The Lost Masterpiece Job
by gibbsrossi
Summary: Nate and Sophie are happily married for two years when someone comes back into Sophie's life. How far will Sophie go to ensure Nate's safety. Drama ensues. Teamfic with my usual Nate/Sophie slant.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Morning…" Nate said leaning in and kissing his wife of two years. He had been up a while already but had not woken her.

"Mmmmm Morning…" Sophie said sleepily.

"Come on Soph you have to get up, you have a big day today." Nate smiled at her. He knew she hated rising before at least ten in the morning. She was not at all a morning person.

"Ok…I'm awake…" She muttered wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer as she snuggled into him.

"Soph…" Nate said squeezing her tight and then pulling away again. "Time to get up…" He said kissing her on the forehead.

"Ok Ok…I'm up…" She said sitting up in the bed and accepting the cup of steaming coffee Nate held out to her.

"This is good…thanks darling…" She said smiling at him as she took a sip of the brew. "What are you going to do today?"

"I've got a few errands to run and then I'll meet you at the theatre."

"Did you hear from them…are they coming?" Soph asked.

"Yeah…they wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Oh good…"

"You know you are going to be great, the show is going to be a great success and we can all go out and celebrate afterwards." Nate said sensing his wife's nervousness. This was her first production, her first show at the theatre they had bought after they had left Leverage Inc. and Portland behind them. They had spent a good part of the first year of their marriage just traveling around the world, on an extended honeymoon. When they had returned and decided to settle in Boston, she had found a little theatre and bought it. Now she was directing her first play and today was opening day.

Sophie stretched and pulled him down onto her kissing him passionately. "Have I told you that I love you lately?" She whispered softly.

"Soph…" Nate said between kisses. "You are going to be late for your rehearsal…" He said pulling her closer.

"They won't start without me." Soph smiled at him. "But you are right of course…as always…." She said pulling away from him and climbing out of the bed. Nate fell forward and then turned and lay on his side propping his head up with his hand as he watched her move smoothly into the bathroom.

"So what errands do you have to run?" She called out to him.

"Oh just a few things…" He said not really wanting to answer the question.

"What are you planning Nate…?" Sophie asked popping her head out of the bathroom.

"Nothing…really…" He said.

"Nate…?"

"Sophie…" Nate said holding his hand up and tapping on his watch. She smiled at him then, she knew he was up to something, probably some surprise for her, and she decided she was not going to push any harder for an answer.

Within an hour Sophie was ready to leave. Nate drove her to the theatre and then left to organize his surprise for her. After making all of his stops he checked his watch and noticed that the time had just flown by. It was only a few hours before curtains and he still had to go home and change, not to mention pick up the other three members of his family that were flying in for the production. After making a stop at home to change and get ready for the evenings events he drove to the airport. There he met Eliot, Parker and Hardison. Then the four of them drove to the theatre to meet Sophie. They arrived at the theatre two hours before curtain call. Nate left the three of them in the foyer and went in search of his wife. He found her backstage making sure everything was in place and ready.

"Hey there Madam Director…" He said coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Nate…" She said happily turning around and hugging him tightly. "Are they here?"

"In the foyer…" Nate replied.

"Oh I'm so nervous…" Sophie admitted softly.

"Nothing to be nervous about Soph…this is you, you are very good at this and you are going to be great." Nate smiled lovingly at her. This time he was not just saying it. Sophie was good at being a director, an actress, no. Directing, that was her niche and she was damn good at it.

"Thank you…" Sophie smiled kissing him on the cheek.

"Now madam I'm going to leave you to your craft…" He said then suddenly pulled her in for a deep kiss. "For luck..." He said as he backed away. "Break a leg…"

"Ok now scoot mister…I have work to do." She smiled giving him a last kiss and then turning to get on with getting everything ready for the opening.

Nate smiled at her and turned leaving her to her business he made his way back to the foyer meeting up with the others again. The play started precisely on time. At the end the audience gave them a standing ovation led by the four people sitting in the front row seats. Nate excused himself and told the others that he would meet them at McRory's where he had arranged the after party for Sophie and her cast.

They had been at the pub for a few hours celebrating when Sophie noticed Nate's absence. After searching the pub she could not find him and started to get a little worried. She found Eliot at the bar with her leading lady but he had also not seen Nate in a while. Hardison and Parker had not seen him either and Sophie really started to get worried.

"I can't find him anywhere." Parker said as they gathered in the back room of the pub, a place they had once used to run their operations out of.

"Where the hell could he be?" Eliot growled.

"I don't…" Sophie started to say but was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She looked down at the device and saw the caller ID was the very man they were looking for. "Nate…where did you disappear to?"

"Mrs Ford, I have your husband. If you wish to see him alive again you will have Mr Spencer, Mr Hardison and Miss Parker with you in one hour. I will call again then with instructions." An ominous voice said and then the line went dead.

**Ok well that is the start of my new story…starting off early with a cliff hanger, sorry about that. I hope you are all going to enjoy it. Please don't forget to let me know what you think, and what you think about the premise…all feedback is most gratefully accepted and eagerly anticipated.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

An hour later the party was still going strong but missing the guest of honor. She was in the back room with the three members of Leverage International waiting anxiously for a phone call.

"What else did he say Sophie?"

"Nothing, I told you Eliot, he just told me to be ready for his phone call and to have all of you with me when I got it."

"Well Nate's phone is off, I can't trace it. They must have turned it off as soon as they made the first call. I traced where that came from and it was right outside here." Hardison said "But I will be ready for the next one."

"If I am right then so will they. They named us right Sophie…" Parker said looking at the Grifter. Sophie nodded her head in response. "So they know us, know who we are, that means they probably know our abilities as well."

"Parker is right." Eliot affirmed. "It's been an hour." He said looking at his watch and then at the phone that lay on the table, willing it to ring. The sooner they spoke to whoever this was the sooner they would know what they wanted from them.

They held their collective breaths when the phone started to ring. Sophie reached out and pressed the accept button leaving the phone on speaker so that they could all hear the conversation. Hardison immediately set his computer to work tracing the signal.

"Mrs Ford, I take it the other three are with you?" The voice said. It was the same one as the first call.

"Where is my husband?" Sophie said without answering him.

"All in good time Mrs Ford. For now all you need to know is that he is alive."

"What do you want?" Sophie asked her voice cold and hard.

"Well you have something of mine Mrs Ford, something I want back." Sophie looked up at the others with a frown on her face. What was the man talking about? "I propose a swap, you will give me what I want and I will return your husband as good as…well almost as good as new." The implication in his words and tone sent shivers down Sophie's back, what had they done to Nate.

"You still have not told me what you want." Sophie said trying to control the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her.

"I want 'The Crow'. You will deliver it to me at a place of my choosing. Because I am feeling generous and I…enjoy the company of your husband…after all we have so much in common…" There was a small evil laugh that followed that statement and a slight pause afterwards before the voice spoke again. "I will give you two days to retrieve the painting. I will call you again to give you the details of where we will make the swap."

"I'm not doing anything until I know my husband is alive." Sophie said staring down at the phone, her heart sinking as she realized who she was talking too and what he wanted.

The line went silent and Sophie thought they had hung up, but then she heard a slight shuffle and then Nate's weak voice.

"Sophie…"

"Nate, oh Nate are you alright."

"I'm fine Sophie…" He said and she could hear the pain in his voice.

"Now Mrs Ford, you know he is alive. He will remain that way if you comply with my request. You will wait for my call." Silence and then a slight laugh filled the air. "Mr Hardison, you will not be able to trace this call, but I wish you luck in trying." Then the line went dead.

"Ok well we know Nate is alive and we know what they want." Eliot said looking at Sophie.

"Yes…"

"What I don't get is that he seemed to think you have it. So why would he want us involved?"

"Because he knows I don't have it…at least not anymore, not for a long time." Sophie replied.

"Sophie…"

"It…I gave it to somebody."

"Who…?" Eliot asked a knot already starting to form in the pit of his stomach.

"Joseph Kentakov." Sophie said softly.

"What…you gave it to him…why on earth would you do that?"

"Because…it's complicated and at the time it was the right thing to do. Anyway, as far as I know he still has it."

"Great…"

"Yeah great. Nobody gets near him without an invite, and nobody has ever successfully stolen anything from him either, and I know a few who have tried, they aren't around anymore." Parker said. Every attempt to break into the home of one Joseph Kentakov met with one thing and one thing only, failure.

"That is where we come in. He knew you did not have the painting anymore and he knew who you gave it to. Who the hell is this guy?" Eliot said looking at Sophie for an answer.

"It could only be one man." Sophie said softly. "I thought he was dead."

"Sophie who is he?"

"My…my ex-husband..." Sophie stated tears welling in her eyes as she spoke.

She sat down heavily in a chair and then told them everything. How she had only been sixteen when she met him. How he had trained her in the art of grifting, he had honed her skills and she had fallen in love with him. They had been together for four years and the relationship had progressed from bad to worse. He was possessive and violent, a side she had not seen in the beginning. He had treated her harshly, kept her a near prisoner and punished her if he thought she had so much as looked at another man. She had wanted out. Then one day she had met Joseph at a party they were attending. One thing led to another and Joseph helped to get away from her husband, and made sure that he did not bother her again. In return she had given him the painting. It was one of Jacob's prize possessions, one of the first paintings they had ever stolen together. She had spent a few months with Joseph before she discovered he was just like Jacob and then had gone her own way. She had not seen him since, nor had she seen or heard from Jacob Fletcher, her ex-husband, at least not until today.

"Why did you think he was dead?" Parker asked.

"Because…because I thought Joseph had killed him. I was sure it was the only way he would have been able to get him to not come after me." Sophie said her voice filled with the shame she felt. "I…it has always been…"

"It's ok Sophie…you don't have to tell us anymore." Eliot said sensing that this was something that had haunted her for a long time and now the ghosts were returning to haunt her.

"Do you think you could call Kentakov and get the painting?"

"I don't know, we…we did not part on the best of terms. He wanted to marry me and…well I thought he had killed Jacob and he was...I just couldn't…" Sophie sat upright in the chair wiping away her tears. "Anyway, I left. So no I don't think he would welcome me back with open arms. But I am going to try."

"He's a dangerous man Sophie."

"I know Eliot. I know exactly what he is capable of. But I have to try. In the mean time you guys have to find a way to get the painting back if I don't succeed."

"Hardison did you get a trace on that call?"

"Na Ah…this guy is good Eliot."

"Ok…Sophie you try to get in touch with Kentakov and see if you can get him to help. Parker you and Hardison need to get us into that house and out with the painting if Sophie fails."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try to find Nate." Eliot said. They had two days Fletcher had said to get the painting. But he was sure that Nate had less than that. He was sure Fletcher was not intending on returning Nate alive to them. That meant he had to retrieve him before Fletcher could kill him. That is what he did. He was a retrieval expert and this was going to be the most important retrieval he ever made.

**So I hope you are still enjoying the story. Thank you for all of your kind reviews and please keep them coming. I appreciate each and every one of them.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sophie approached the man at the table drawing in a deep breath as she did.

"Katherine." The man said as Sophie came to a stop at the table.

"Joseph." Sophie said softly as he stood up and took her by the shoulders and held her at arm's length his eyes raking her body.

"The years have been kind to you Kate…you are still just as beautiful as the day you ran out on me." He said smiling, his voice betraying a slight hint of hurt in it. He pulled out a chair for her and she sat down.

"So Kate, why now after all these years…?" Joseph asked as he poured her a glass of wine.

"Joseph do you still have 'The Crow'?"

"Why?"

"Joseph…?"

"Of course I do Kate. It was my only memento of you." Joseph said sitting back in his chair and waiting for Sophie to tell him what she wanted.

"Look Joseph. Jacob has my husband and I need 'The Crow' to get him back." Sophie said. She decided taking the direct route would be the best way to go. Joseph Kentakov knew her very well, knew she was a grifter and she was not going to be able to fool him anyway.

Joseph Kentakov laughed loudly at that. "Your husband…" He said through the laugh. "Your ex-husband has your husband…" He said settling down again. "You really do have a problem don't you?"

"Joseph please..."

"Does this 'husband' of yours know about Jacob…or did you con him too?" He said his voice now cold and hard. "You know Jacob is not going to be very happy to know you got married again…I mean considering you never divorced him."

"I had the marriage annulled." Sophie said hearing a small gasp from Hardison through her earpiece at that statement.

"You did…did you? You used me Kate. You used me and then you dumped me. Why would I want to help you now?"

"Joseph I am sorry ok. I was young, I was…"

"Scared?" Joseph said leaning in towards her. "Scared of Jacob and then you thought I had killed him right, so you were scared of me too?"

"I…"

"No I know you did. You thought I had killed him to get you." Joseph said his eyes boring into her. "Well let me tell you Kate. You are a beautiful woman to be sure and I wanted you. But I didn't have to kill him to accomplish that…no I just had to explain things to him…I was always very persuasive."

"Will you give me the painting?" Sophie asked.

"Yes I'll give you the painting, but I want something in return."

"What?"

"You Kate…are you willing to give yourself to me…"

Sophie stared at him in disbelieve.

"Not forever of course, I have learned the hard way that that was not going to be…just for one night." Joseph said leaning in and putting his hand over Sophie's. "You will spend the night with me, you will give yourself willingly to me and then I will give you the painting. For old times' sake…"

"Just walk away Sophie…we'll find a way to get the painting." Hardison said.

"Yeah Sophie say no and walk away. I will get the painting. We don't need him to give it to us." Parker said anxiously. Sophie could not go to bed with this man.

"The painting first..." Sophie said ignoring their voices. She had no doubt that they would be able to steal the painting. But first they would have to find out where it was, then they would have to pull the heist. She had the greatest confidence in Parker to be able to steal it no matter where it was, but she was not sure they could do it in the time they had been given. Nate was worth whatever she had to do to get him back, even sleep with Joseph Kentakov.

"Sophie what the hell do you think you're doing?" Eliot growled out.

"Well the painting is not here my dear. I will have to send for it. I am assuming you are on a time limit so you stay with me tonight and I will have the painting here tomorrow for you."

"Sophie just get up and walk the hell out of there." Eliot said softly.

"I think I need to powder my nose Joseph." Sophie said standing up from the table. She smiled at the man and then made her way to the bathrooms.

"Sophie…"

"Listen guys, I don't know where the painting is. We only have until tomorrow. I…I have to do this."

"NO!" Hardison burst out. "Sophie you don't…"

"Hardison please…I…" Sophie drew a breath and stared at herself in the mirror. "Can you guarantee you can get the painting before tomorrow? No you can't and I can't take the chance…I can't take the chance with Nate's life."

"Sophie…"

"Eliot, I know you want to get him back, I know…" She paused again. "Have you found where he is? Would you be able to do that before tomorrow? We don't have the time guys and Nate's life is in the balance…I'm sorry but this is the only way." She said then she pulled out her earpiece and put it in her bag. They did not need to listen any further to what she was about to do. She looked at herself in the mirror again and smiled sadly at her reflection. This was the only way, the only way to guarantee that they could make the swap for Nate and she was going to get Nate back, no matter what sacrifice she had to make.

**Will Sophie go through with it? Will Joseph honor their deal if she does? Please let me know what you think of the story so far, I look forward to reading all of your comments and speculation.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nate came to his senses slowly. He was not sure what had happened. He had been at the bar having a drink and celebrating Sophie's success. The next thing he knew he was waking up here in this little room with a head that felt worse than any hangover he had ever had. Everything in between was a blank. He sat up gingerly leaning against the wall and closing his eyes he tried to fight back the wave of nausea that swept over him. He sat there fighting the dizziness and the nausea when he heard the key turn in the lock and tensed up waiting for whoever had done this to him.

"Ah Mr Ford you are awake, I am so pleased." The rather tall man with flowing black hair and an expensive suite on said as he entered the room.

"Yes well…" Nate said looking up at the man. "Can I ask where I am and why I am here?"

"Ah yes, well you are…let's say…a means to an end." The man said smiling at him.

Nate looked closely at the man. He was well dressed and he could tell that he had never done a hard days' work in his life. He had a cultured British accent and he was very smooth in movement and speech.

"You know who I am obviously…mind if you tell me who you are?"

"I am Jacob Fletcher." Jacob replied without hesitation. Nate could tell the man was not lying and that gave him a very uneasy feeling. A kidnapper was not about to give you his name if he expected you to live through the kidnapping.

"So Jacob…" Nate forced himself up into a standing position even though the effort brought another wave of dizziness. He wanted to be on the same level as the man. "What 'ends' are we talking about here?"

"All in good time Mr Ford, all in good time." Jacob Fletcher said moving further into the room.

Nate watched him move and was reminded of a cat. Then his eyes were drawn away from Jacob and to the man who entered the room behind him.

"You know I abhor violence Mr Ford. I really really do. Therefore I am not going to inflict any on you." Jacob said smoothly. "Dr Florence here, he knows ways of inflicting pain without the…let's just say… mess." He said laughing slightly as the doctor approached Nate.

Nate tried to push himself away from the wall he was still leaning heavily on but ending without the support he fell forward falling prone at the doctor and Jacob's feet.

"Ah yes…" Jacob said going down on his haunches at Nate's side. "I am afraid the doctor might have given you just a little too much of his juice before…" He said softly. Then he looked up at the doctor and nodded at him.

Nate looked up at the doctor who knelt down beside him pulling his arm straight and pushing up his sleeve. Nate knew he had no hope of getting away so tried to relax himself as he felt the prick of a needle. Then he felt a warmth spread throughout his body as whatever the doctor injected him with flowed into his bloodstream.

"Now Mr Ford what the doctor has injected you with will not cause immediate pain." Jacob said as he again approached Nate helping the Doctor to sit Nate up against the wall. "In fact I believe it will give you some…What would you say Doctor?"

"Peace…in fact it will cause a slight euphoria I am told…" The Doctor said smiling slightly.

"Yes, then I am afraid it will…hurt a bit." Jacob said.

"What is it you want from me?" Nate asked his head swimming as the drug started to take its course. He wondered what he had been given.

"From you…" Jacob asked raising an eyebrow. "I want nothing from you my dear man."

"Then why…" Nate swallowed hard as he started to lose focus. "Why do this?"

"Because I want to of course…" Jacob replied. "Tell me Mr Ford do you love her?"

"Who?"

"Your wife…" Jacob said as he lit a cigarette. After inhaling deeply he blew the smoke out into Nate's face. "Sophie…do you love her."

Nate looked up and into the cold hard eyes of the Englishman. He felt fear grip him suddenly as he realized that this was about Sophie and not him or any one of the others.

"I loved her you know. I loved her and she caused me pain and suffering…she is going to do that to you to you too, she was born to hurt the men who love her."

"What…" Nate cleared his throat and tried to focus clearly on the man. "What do you want from Sophie?"

Jacob smiled at him and patted his shoulder lightly. "Never you mind Mr Ford…Nate…can I call you Nate?" He said then stood up straight again taking another drag from his cigarette. "Well Nate, all in good time. I will see you later when we make our call." He said then turned and left the room with the doctor in tow and locked the door behind him.

"Sophie…" Nate whispered as he closed his eyes which had become heavier as the drug took its course.

When Jacob returned Nate was sitting in the corner of the room trying very hard to concentrate on something, anything that could take his mind of the aching pain in his stomach. It had started about thirty minutes after Jacob had left him and had got progressively worse since then. He felt like he was being consumed by fire from the inside out. Jacob was talking on the phone when he entered the room. He made directly for Nate and reaching out pulled him into an upright position.

"Speak…your wife would like to hear your voice." Jacob said softly holding the phone to Nate's ear.

Once he had finished speaking to Sophie Joseph spoke a little more then hung up. He moved to Nate's side and looked down at him.

"You are not looking so good Mr Ford."

"What do you want with Sophie…" Nate gritted out. He was not worried about himself, his mind was consumed with worry for his wife.

"Do not concern yourself with that Mr Ford. You have enough troubles of your own."

"You son of a bitch if you touch one hair on her head…"

"Now now Mr Ford I wouldn't do that…you might hurt yourself." Jacob said as Nate lunged for him falling sideways onto the concrete floor. "Besides she was my wife first…" He said then turned and left leaving a stunned Nate staring after him his pain forgotten for a moment.

**Thank you all so much for the reviews, I truly appreciate all of them. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"What the hell does the woman think she's doing?" Hardison said shaking his head in disbelieve.

"Saving Nate." Eliot said his voice deadly soft and filled with suppressed anger.

"We can't let her do this Eliot." Hardison said. "This will kill Sophie, not to mention Nate when he finds out about it."

"I know Hardison, but she is right. I am not going to be able to find Nate before the deadline and we don't even know where the bastard is keeping the paining."

"So what…we just let her do this?" Parker asked incredulously. They could not let Sophie go through with it. Maybe a long time ago Sophie would have been able to do what she was planning to do and live with herself afterwards. But she was not the Sophie of then, not that Parker thought Sophie was the kind of woman that would have done it anyway, it was not Sophie, not then and definitely not now. She also knew that Nate would rather die than let Sophie do this.

"Parker…"

"What Eliot? It may be the only way. Well it isn't. We can't let her do it. We have to stop her."

"I was going to ask if you have your rig with you."

"Why?" Parker asked slightly confused.

"Because you are going to need it if you are going to get into their room." Eliot said and before either of them could respond he went on. "Hardison I take it you have already hacked in and know what room he is staying in?"

"Yeah…Penthouse."

"No problem…" Parker said the beam on her face coming through her voice. Then she frowned slightly. "What do we do when we get in? I mean we'll have him and of course stop Sophie from being stupid…but what about Nate?"

"We'll have to trust that Nate will be ok until we can get to him." Eliot said softly. He knew he was playing with fire. Jacob Fletcher could kill Nate when they did not provide the painting, but Eliot was almost sure it was not the painting the man wanted.

"Well we can always make him give us the painting." Hardison said. "I mean we are about to piss off one of the most powerful vindictive, violent men in the world so why not just make him give us the painting or at least tell us where it is. Hopefully he will let us live long enough to get to Nate…" Hardison said his tone implying he did not expect that to happen.

"Yeah well let's cross that bridge later. For now do you have eyes on her?"

'Yip…" Parker's voice came through the coms.

"What the hell girl…" Hardison said still amazed at how easily Parker could appear and then disappear and reappear somewhere completely unexpected.

"Well we need to know when she leaves don't we…?" Parker said innocently.

"Parker just let us know when they leave for the room. Then do your thing." Eliot said as climbed into the van to join Hardison.

"Hardison we need a few things." Eliot said and then he and Hardison got to work.

An hour later Sophie and Joseph left the dining area of the hotel and made their way to the private elevator that would take them to the penthouse suite.

"Let's go…" Eliot said when Parker told them that they were on the move.

"So my dear…would you like a little more to drink before we retire to the bedroom…? Perhaps you will enjoy this a little more…" Joseph asked smiling sadistically at her.

"I said I would stay the night…"

"And give yourself willingly…" Joseph added pouring Sophie a glass of red wine as he spoke.

"And give myself willingly…" Sophie agreed. "I never said I would enjoy it."

"Come come my dear…we were good together once…" He said handing her the glass of wine and leaning in placing his lips on hers as he did so. Then he pulled away feeling the coldness of her. "You enjoyed being with me." He said running his hand through her hair and feeling the shiver run through her.

"Well she changed her mind…" A voice said from behind him and then felt a jolt of electricity flow through him and then blacked out before he could hear the woman say her finish her sentence. "It's a woman's prerogative…right Sophie." Parker said looking up at the woman who looked as if she too had been struck down by Parkers' taser.

"What have you done…" Sophie cried looking first at Joseph's prone body and then at Parker.

"Stopped you from doing something really stupid..." Eliot said as he entered the room to hear her anguished question.

"You've killed Nate…"

"Sophie do you really think he was going to give you the painting?" Eliot said coming to stand in front of Sophie. "Do you really think Jacob wants that painting?"

"We'll never know will we…" Sophie hissed at him.

"Know we won't." Eliot said deciding that it was pointless talking to her right now he turned to Parker. "Get him secure in a chair, we don't have much time."

"What are you doing…?" Sophie snapped.

"He's going to tell us where that painting is. Then we are going to get it."

"You don't have time." Sophie said finding it hard to keep the anger out of her voice. She had it covered. She would have slept with him and he would have given her the painting and then she would have got Nate back. What did they think they were doing interfering.

"Sophie listen to me. There was no way in hell I was…"

"We were…" Hardison chipped in.

"We were…" Eliot said nodding at Hardison. "Going to let you go through with this…you think you would be saving Nate's life…knowing you did this would have killed him. Now shut up and help."

Sophie stared at the Hitter caught between anger, relief frustration and desperation. Then she shook her head and nodded at the three of them as the gathered around the bound man who was starting to come back to life.

"Ok…" Sophie said softly. "But this better work…"

"It will…" Parker said then stepped up and patted Joseph's face not to gently bringing him back to complete consciousness.

**Thanks so much for the reviews. Please keep them coming they are greatly appreciated. So do you think they will get Joseph to tell them where the painting is? Will they be able to get it in time? How do you think Jacob will react if they don't? I will try to post the next chapter soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nate sat in the corner of the room his knees pulled up to his chest as he fought the tremors that ran through his body. Sweat poured from his forehead, his normally wild and curly hair lay flat and limp drenched with sweat. He fought the pain that surged through him refusing to give in to it. His throat was dry and sore, it hurt to swallow, it hurt to breath, his life was just a world of pain. He was not sure how long it had been since he had last seen his captor but it had been at least almost a day. The doctor had paid him another visit and injected him with something again, but other than that he had not seen anybody. He looked up warily as he heard the key in the lock.

"Mr Ford…No please don't get up…" Jacob said sarcastically as he entered the room. "So good to see you again dear chap."

Nate looked up at him and forced a smile. "I am afraid your establishment leaves a lot to be desired…" He said his voice raspy and filled with pain.

Jacob looked down and the man and shook his head slightly. He had to admire the fortitude of the man if nothing else. "Do you mind if I sit down here for a while. I am waiting to make a very important call."

Nate did not answer as a shard of pain shot through him again. Jacob nodded and sat down resting his back against the wall.

"You know I loved her too…very much." Jacob said softly. "It's terrible what she does to the men she loves isn't it?"

"She has done nothing to me…"

"Oh but she has Nate. She used you…is using you." Jacob said turning to his captor. "You don't think she really loves you do you?" He laughed at Nate then and shook his head. "The only thing that woman loves is herself…"

Nate said nothing. Arguing with this man was not going to get him anywhere. He did not know what he wanted from Sophie but he seemed to want to talk to him about it so he would just let him. He closed his eyes.

"I am sorry about this you know. You don't deserve this…but that is what you get for loving her. Everybody who does suffers." Jacob smiled and looked at Nate. "She almost killed me."

"You said she was married to you?" Nate asked pushing himself into a sitting position and turning slightly to face Jacob.

"Yes…" Jacob replied. "You know I taught her everything she knows. I took her from nothing, just a little thing off the street and I taught her, cared for her, loved her…and do you know how she repaid me? Do you?"

Nate just stared at him waiting for him to continue.

"No…well let me tell you. Firstly she stole my painting. A painting that we stole together, her first great steal, her first great grift…I loved that painting you know. I mean I love art…"

"She loves art…" Nate whispered.

"Yes…yes and I taught her to love it, anyway that painting was special to me. I shared that with her." Jacob paused as if he was remembering a great love. "You know that one piece that means everything to you when you acquire it."

Jacob looked at Nate as if to see if he understood. Nate nodded slightly giving him permission to carry on.

"We were so happy, so very happy, then she met another man. I tried to explain to her that she could not leave me, that I was the one who loved her and that I was the one she was meant to be with…but she chose him. Then you know what she did?" Jacob asked his voice turning cold and filled with venom. "She told him to get rid of me…get RID of me…the person who had made her who she was." Jacob stopped speaking trying to regain his composure. "Anyway…suffice to say she put me through hell, literally and figuratively. Now all I want from her is the painting and that she suffers the way I did."

Nate's eyes filled with fear at that last statement and Jacob picked up on the change in his expression.

"Oh no my dear boy, I have not the slightest intension of sullying my hands on her. No, no her punishment is your suffering, and of course the loss of the painting…so sorry old chap but that's just what you get for loving her…" Jacob said smiling and then standing and pulling the phone out of his pocket. "Now I believe I have a phone call to make. You will forgive me…" He said as he dialed the number.

**Again thanks for all the reviews, I so very much appreciate each and every one of them. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Joseph came back to his senses with Parker tapping his face none to gently. It took him a few seconds to remember what had happened and as the memory returned his face grew dark with anger. He could fell his hands and legs were bound tightly causing him a little discomfort and he wondered who would dare to do this to him. Then he remembered Sophie was with him and he opened his eyes wide and cast his eyes around the room until they settled on the woman. She stood talking to a man at the other end of the room with their backs were turned to him.

"He's awake Eliot…" Parker said

The man to whom Sophie was talking turned around and looked at Joseph. Then he touched Sophie's arm before walking across the room to join the young blonde woman standing in front of him.

"Eliot Spenser" Joseph said recognizing the man.

"You remember."

"What do you want? You will pay for this." Joseph said and although he was angry and full of bluster there was just a tinge of fear in his voice too.

"I want 'The Crow'" Eliot said his voice deadly low and full of menace. "You are going to tell me where it is and you are going to tell me right now."

Joseph laughed a hard cold laugh as he looked toward Sophie who had now moved to Eliot's side.

"That's the second time you have double crossed me darling. It will be your last." He hissed at her.

"Joseph you know who I am, you know what I do, now I would suggest you think about that for a minute and then just tell me where the painting is." Eliot said moving in front of Sophie and between her and the restrained man.

"You don't scare me Spencer. I'll deal with you in good time." Joseph said his eyes settling on the Hitter. "As for the painting…" Joseph paused and smiled at him. "I don't have it."

"You lie…" Sophie blurted out pushing Eliot out of the way.

"Oh my dear Katherine…" Joseph said shaking his head and smirking at her. "But I really don't. I got rid of that painting years ago."

"You said…" Sophie gasped realizing that she had almost slept with this man for no good reason.

"Tch Tch…my dear you used to be a lot less gullible. Still I think you would have enjoyed your evening with me, maybe you wanted to believe I had the painting because you wanted to spend the night…" He laughed loudly.

Sophie stared at him for a few seconds and then her hand flew out and Joseph's head snapped around as she connected with his face.

"Who did you give it too?" Eliot asked calmly, they needed some indication of where to start looking.

"Well I tell you Spenser, I don't remember." Joseph said looking at the Hitter and seeing the anger growing in him.

"He's lying…" Parker said moving forward now. "Nobody gives a Masterpiece away and does not remember to whom."

"Look young lady, I have no love of art…" Joseph said looking at the young blonde woman. The look in her eyes sent a chill down his spine. "Not like our dear Kate over there. So I gave it to somebody in return for a favour…"

"Who?" Hardison asked moving forward as well.

"I don't remember I told…" Before Joseph could finish his sentence he felt a bolt of electricity flow through him and his whole body shuddered.

"Tell us who…" Parker said her voice deadly, her eyes holding the promise of pain for the bound man before her.

"Ok…ok…I gave it to Petra Petrova. He saw it in my house and I needed a favour so…"

"He's dead."

"That's right Spencer he is." Joseph said a small smile crossing his face as he looked at the Hitter. "Nobody should know that better than you right?"

The three others looked at Eliot realizing what Joseph was implying. Eliot had had something to do with this Petra Petrova's death.

"What do we do now…?" Hardison asked as he realized that they had no idea where the painting was and they were running out of time.

"We get out of here." Eliot said. "Then we can decide what to do next."

"Come on Sophie…" Parker said taking the woman's arm and leading her to the door.

Sophie allowed herself to be led away by her, her mind was numb. They did not know where the painting was. They did not know where Nate was and all she wanted to do was cry. Hardison followed the two of them out the door and to the elevator Eliot approached Joseph and bent down until his face was right beside his.

"You come after us Joseph and you'll be joining Petra…" Eliot said softly. Then he put a piece of duct-tape over the man's mouth and patted his cheek. "No matter what…you understand?" He said standing straight up again.

Joseph did not answer and his eyes spat fire at the Hitter, but Eliot knew the man understood. Eliot would kill him, no matter what it cost if he sent anybody after any one of them. Then Eliot turned and followed the other three out.

It was two the next afternoon when Sophie's phone rang. The group were gathered back in Boston in their old offices above the pub. Sophie saw Hardison give her the signal that she could answer as he started his trace.

"Jacob…" Sophie said as she answered the phone.

"Do you have the painting?" Jacob asked dispensing with all civility.

"Yes." Sophie stated.

"Good. You will bring it alone to the Café Rochelle. I will give you further instructions from there."

"I want to speak to Nate." Sophie said. "I need to know he is still alive."

"Of course my dear…of course." Jacob said. Then there was a silence before the weak voice of Nate brought tears to Sophie's eyes.

"Sophie…" Nate said his voice hoarse and still pain-filled.

"Nate…oh Nate it's going to be ok, we are going to get you back…" Sophie said softly.

"So now you see he is still alive." Jacob said. "The Café Rochelle in two hours." Then phone went dead.

"Hardison…" Eliot asked as the line went dead.

Hardison shook his head slowly. He was not able to get a trace.

"Ok…Sophie get ready for the drop. Parker the painting, Hardison we need eyes and ears on Sophie at all times." Eliot barked out orders.

"If he finds out we don't really have the painting…"

"Sophie, you are a Grifter, the best there is…"

"But this is not for money Eliot, if this doesn't work it…it could mean Nate…"

"Sophie, you have to forget that, you have to see this as just another Grift…it's Nate's only chance."

"I don't know if I can…I…" Sophie said fighting the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her. She could hear his voice, soft, filled with pain and so, so distant.

"You can Sophie. For Nate, you can." Parker said her voice full of confidence.

"You're right." Sophie said pulling herself together. "Give me a minute ok…" She said moving into the room and closing the door behind her.

"She going to be ok…?" Hardison asked staring at the closed door.

"She will once we get Nate back." Eliot said. If they did not get Nate back, if this did not work…that was another story all together.

"Ok…get moving you two." Eliot said taking the fake painting wrapped in brown paper from Parker. "The minute Sophie gets something out of him…we have to be ready to go."

"Right…I'm ready." Sophie said emerging from the room.

"Let's go get us our Nate back…" Parker said as she exited the room followed by the other three.

**Thank you all again so much for taking the time to review the chapters. I really appreciate the feedback. Please keep them coming. **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sophie entered Café Rochelle and scanned the room. She did not see Jacob or Nate. She was not even sure she would recognize Jacob when she saw him. She moved to an open table and sat down. Hardison and Parker were in the van waiting for something to happen and she had no idea where Eliot was. A waiter came to the table to take her order. She ordered herself a glass of house wine and sat back in the chair. The waiter returned a few minutes later with her wine and a phone. He smiled at her and handed her the phone. As soon as he had left the table it rang.

"Jacob…"

"I don't see a painting my dear."

"I don't see Nate." Sophie replied.

"They have a very good house wine here don't they?" He asked. He was obviously watching her.

"I've had better."

"Yes well…" There was a pause and then Jacob continued. "I told you to come alone."

"I am alone."

"Don't play with me…Sophie is it now…I am well aware of the presence of the van outside."

"Just tell me where you want to make the swap Jacob." Sophie said softly.

"Do you love him…" Jacob asked. "Do you love him like you loved me?"

Sophie did not respond. What did she say. That she loved Nate more than she had ever loved anybody in her life. That her feelings for him were never one of love, that she was a child when she had met him and that she had been alone and lost and vulnerable and he had taken advantage of that. What did he want to hear?

"Did you ever love me Katherine…" Jacob asked when she remained silent. "Did you love Joseph…are you even capable of loving anybody except yourself." His voice had turned icy. "Do you know what loving you cost me?"

"Jacob…"

"Don't lie to me. I have heard enough of your lies." Jacob said interrupting her.

"Just tell me what you want Jacob. I will give it to you." Sophie said. If he wanted revenge on her, then he could have it as long as he let Nate go. "Just please…"

"What don't hurt him?" Jacob smirked over the phone. "What is he worth to you?"

Sophie remained silent. This was a very dangerous game and she had to be careful how she played it.

"You will deliver the painting to me at the address the waiter will give to you. You will come alone. If you do not come alone, I will make sure that your husband understands your mistake and I will know if you are not alone." Jacob said not waiting for her to answer and then the phone went dead.

Shortly after that the waiter returned to her table with and a message for her.

"The bill has been taken care of…Oh and the gentleman said not to open the note until you are in the cab." He said then turned and left.

Sophie watched him leave then took one last long sip of the wine before rising and leaving the Café. She made her way swiftly to the van. As she approached it Hardison opened the back door.

"The painting Hardison." Sophie said stopping outside the van.

"Sophie…"

"Hardison just give me the damn painting ok." Sophie said. She did not want to argue the point. Jacob was watching and if she got into the van he would know. She was not willing to take any chances with Nate's life. If he wanted her alone, he was going to get her alone. Beside she had no doubt that Hardison would be able to track her, and Eliot would never let her get too far away from them. Hardison nodded and Parker handed her the painting.

"Be careful…" Parker said looking at the older woman with worried eyes.

"I will." She said then turning around she made a little show or removing the coms along with the camera broach she was wearing and handed it to the blond woman. Then she smiled at them both and made her way back to the street to hail a cab.

"Good luck…" Hardison said then slammed the door closed.

Parker and Hardison watched as Sophie climbed into the cab and left. Neither one of them liked the fact that Sophie was no incommunicado and that they were blind. They did not pull off immediately although it took all their restraint not too. They had to let Sophie go. They had to give the watching Jacob the impression that they were not going to follow her.

"You can track her right?" Eliot said as he climbed into the drivers' seat of the van.

"Yeah…" Hardison confirmed.

"Good."

"Shouldn't we go Eliot?" Parker asked anxiously. She did not like this. Even though they could track her, she was alone. It would take them a while to catch up with her and anything could happen between then and now.

"Yeah…" Eliot said gunning the motor and pulling off.

"Wrong way Eliot…" Hardison said looking at his laptop and watching the blinking image that was Sophie going in the opposite direction to what Eliot was going.

"I know…" Eliot said watching his rearview mirror closely. They were being followed.

"Eliot…"

"Hardison we are being followed. Now I don't like it and you don't like it but Sophie can take care of herself. We have to trust that she can keep Jacob busy until we get there." Eliot said pulling the van into an alleyway and watching as the car behind them followed. Suddenly he slammed on brakes and was out of the car in a flash and at the drivers' side door of the car pulling the driver out though the open window.

"What…hey…" The surprised driver stuttered.

"You were following me. I don't like that." Eliot said pushing the man up against the wall of the alley. Parker and Hardison came to stand beside him facing the driver.

"I wasn't…"

"How are you communicating with your boss?" Eliot asked as he frisked the man and checked for coms.

"I don't know what…"

"Look, I don't have time to play nice, either you tell me what I want to know or…"

"Ok…Ok…" The driver said fear flowing through him as he looked into Eliot's eyes and saw death in them, the thousand bucks the man had paid him was not worth this. "He said I should follow you and make sure that you were not following the cab that the woman took that's all man. I was to call him on the phone and let him know where you were."

"Right…number?"

The driver rattled of a number in a shaky voice. Eliot gave Hardison as look and the Hacker nodded getting back into the van to start a trace on the phone.

"Now call him and tell him that we tried to follow the cab but lost it. Tell him the cab is in the clear."

The driver nodded nervously and took the phone from Eliot.

"You better not give him any reason not to believe you." Eliot warned.

The man dialed the number and had a short conversation with the man on the other side. Then he handed the phone back to Eliot.

"Please man…I just needed the money…" He said his voice conveying his fear. Eliot smiled at him and then laid a fist to his face. He caught him before he could hit the ground and dragged him back to the car. Placing him in the back seat he closed the door again.

"Let's go." He said heading back to the van and then setting off after Sophie.

**Thanks again for the reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter too…slight cliffhanger…but I won't leave you hanging for too long. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sophie entered the hotel room carrying the painting. Jacob stood at the far end of the room and watched her closely as she entered, closing the door behind her.

"Where's Nate?" Sophie said putting the painting down carefully on the table. She looked at the man across the room from her and noticed his slight frame. He was nothing like she remembered him. He had been a handsome man, well-built and strong. Now he looked old and tired and his skin had a sickly palelook about it.

"Is that 'The Crow'?" Jacob said not moving from his position.

"Where's Nate?" Sophie reiterated not answering him.

"First things first…" Jacob said moving forward towards the table.

Sophie moved forward too blocking his path to the table. They stopped in the middle of the room almost touching they were so close.

"Jacob it's been a long time."

"Yes it has."

"I…"

"What…?" What would you like to say my dear? That you are sorry for what you did? Sorry for ordering me killed? Sorry for…for breaking my heart? Sorry for stealing something so precious from me?"

"I did not order you killed. I just wanted, needed out. You were suffocating me, you…"

"I picked you up of the street and took you in. I made you into who you are. I gave you your abilities, I thought you, nurtured you…loved you. You were my family." He said his voice suddenly full of sadness.

"You had a funny way of showing it."

"What did I get in return?" Jacob said ignoring Sophie. "You stole the one painting that you knew meant so much to me…" Jacob said nodding in the direction of the still brown paper wrapped painting lying on the table. "You climbed into bed with another man and then used him to get rid of me." Jacob said his voice remaining soft and even. He lifted his hand and Sophie flinched despite herself. Jacob smiled and put his hand gently against her cheek. "Did you love me Kate?" He said gently rubbing his thumb gently in circles sending chills down Sophie's back.

"Jacob I was a child, you…you were everything to me." Sophie said softly her eyes locked with his.

"You had a funny way of showing it." Jacob said smiling as he used her words. "Now the painting shall we?" Jacob said stepping back and walking around Sophie to the table.

"It's not 'The Crow'" Sophie said suddenly moving to the other side of the table. "Jacob please, I don't know where the painting is. Joseph gave it away. I promise you I will get it, I will find it and I will get it to you."

"You gave the painting to Joseph Kentakov?" Jacob spat at her. "You gave MY Masterpiece to that ignorant…" Jacob stopped and took a deep breath. "You KNEW how much I loved that painting." He said his voice filled with anger and a little hurt too.

"Jacob I am sorry, I am sorry for everything. But you have to understand I never told Joseph to kill you, I never wanted you dead…"

"Just out of your life..." Jacob hissed.

"You hit me…you kept me locked up…what did you think was going to happen?"

"You were a harlot, giving yourself to every man you saw…"

"No. No I never did. I…I…Loved you." Sophie uttered softly. "I was doing what you taught me to do…I Grifted, I seduced, I…You taught me well."

" All I asked was that you bring me that which was mine…" Jacob said softly then looked at Sophie a small sad smile crossing his face. "I guess this answers my earlier question."

"What question?"

"Do you love him?" Jacob said softly.

"Jacob please, I'll give you anything, I'll do anything you want, I'll go with you, be with you…I'll stay with you forever…I'll get the painting I swear, please…"

Jacob laughed , his laugh was low and taunting. "Begging does not become you my dear. No…" Jacob said approaching her from his side of the table and coming to stand in front of her. "You had your chance, just as you had your chance with me. You loved neither one of us enough." He said.

"No…" Sophie said standing up before him, she was done begging. This man had her husband and he was going to give him back to her. "You will tell me where Nate is and you will tell me now. I'll get your damned Masterpiece back for you but you are going to tell me where my husband is right now." Sophie said loudly staring at the man her eyes hard and cold.

Again Jacob laughed. Before Sophie could react his hand flew up and struck her on the cheek sending her reeling backward.

"I see you still need some discipline my dear. I am in charge here not you." He said following her to the table she had backed into with the force of the hit. He raised his hand again but before he could land the blow a strong hand grabbed his arm pulling him around to face the man whose arm it was and then a fist slammed into his face sending him reeling backward. He fell into the overstuffed chair behind him holding his face.

"No Eliot…" Sophie said as she saw him follow the man he had just hit. Eliot stopped and stood back as Sophie came to stand beside him both of them watching Jacob who put a handkerchief to his face stemming the blood pouring from his nose.

Jacob wiped the blood away gingerly his nose was broken and the pain was considerable however he did not wince. Then he looked up at the four people standing before him.

"I said alone…" Jacob said softly and yet Sophie was sure he was not at all surprised or even angry at the presence of the others.

"Jacob just tell me where Nate is."

"No." Jacob said and then pulled back slightly as Eliot took a step forward. Sophie put her hand on his arm and shook her head slightly. "I am afraid you will never see him again my darling."

"You will tell me where he is or so help me I'll…" Eliot growled out pulling his arm away from Sophie and coming to stand directly in front of the man in the chair.

"I am not afraid of you Mr Spenser. I know your reputation and I know you could kill me with great ease. But you see…" Jacob said looking up and smiling at the Hitter. "I'm dead already."

"What do you mean?" Sophie asked apprehensively.

"I have cancer. I have only a few short weeks left...maybe less." Jacob said turning his eyes to her.

"Jacob…"

"Don't pretend you care dear Katherine. I am sure you…" Jacob then cast his eyes over the other three people. "Nor them, feel anything for me and my impending doom."

"Jacob, I will get you the painting I promise, just please, you don't need to keep Nate." Sophie said coming to stand by his side.

"Oh but I do my dear. You see when you are approaching your own demise, you start thinking about your past, seeing your life as it were in one great movie show. When I was given the news I knew what I had to do. I had to find the two things that I had loved more than anything in the world. 'The Crow' and you my darling wife. Now it took a long time to find you, most of the time that I had left was spent tracing you but it was worth it. Just to see that look on your face, just to see the same hurt you caused me being laid upon you. I knew you did not have the painting…"

"You knew…?"

"Of course I knew. I know more about your life than you think. I have many resources and I have spent them all on tracing you, your life, your adventures in the world. I did not know you had given the painting to that man, but I knew you no longer had it. I accepted that I would never see my Masterpiece again, but I comfort myself in the fact that you will never see…well I suppose your Masterpiece again." Jacob said smiling at her. "Now I can die in piece."

"Enough of this. You will tell us where Nate is. If you know me and my reputation you will know that I can make you tell us."

"Again Mr Spenser your threats, although I have no doubt are not idle, are pointless. I do not know where he is. I had him removed by someone, taken to a place where he can contemplate the pain and heartache loving my wife has brought him. He will know that it is her that has given him such a slow and lonely death. So go ahead my dear chap and start in with whatever it is you think will make me talk, I welcome death now. The doctors have assured me that at the last my life will not be…pleasant, so you will be doing me a great favour." Jacob said sitting back in his chair and staring Eliot down.

Eliot looked at the man. He was not lying, of that he was sure. He had known this was going to happen, planned it. He knew Sophie did not have the painting yet he still went through with the meeting. He knew they would follow her, he had not cared. He wanted to tell Sophie that she would never see Nate again. He wanted to see the hurt and pain and fear in her eyes. He wanted her to know that he had taken from her the person she loved the most in this world and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Don't look so sad Katherine my darling. You will find yourself another man to use and to bend to your will of that I have no doubt."

"You bastard…" Sophie said stepping forward and slapping him hard across the face.

Jacob smiled as he turned his face back to her to see an unwanted tear drop from her eye.

"Now you know what you did to me my darling. I hope you live a long life so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labour." Jacob said his voice soft and ice cold. "I am tired now. Do what you will."

The four people in the room with him stood and stared at the man in disbelieve. None of them knew what to do now and they were frozen with the fear of what Jacob had said. Nate was alone, out there somewhere dying and they had no way of knowing where to even start looking for him.

"Oh my God…" Sophie said the tears now falling freely. Parker moved to her side and pulled her into a hug. She held Sophie tightly and stared at the man in the chair who sat with his eyes closed and a contented smile on his pallid face.

**So what do you think they are going to do now? Where is Nate and what has Jacob done to him? What will their next move be? Will they be able to find Nate before it is too late? Thank you for taking the time to review, I really appreciate all of them.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Well I have to go meet with our wife." Jacob said after his conversation with Sophie. "I am sorry my dear old chap but that will be the last time you hear her voice."

"Don't you hurt her…" Nate said suddenly finding some strength as he pushed himself up to stand and face Jacob.

"By my good man I have no intention of hurting her…" Jacob said not showing any fear of Nate who stood unsteadily facing him and staring at him. "Not physically anyway, not at all, as I told you before I abhor violence."

"What are you going to do?" Nate asked softly, his fear for her safety outweighing his fear for himself.

"Well…nothing really." Jacob smiled at him. "You are the one thing I think she actually loves…perhaps even more than herself, which is quite extraordinary. However that is her punishment. She took my Masterpiece, now lost forever, so I will take hers… to be lost…forever." Jacob said his voice full of venom. "Unfortunately for you, it means your demise too." Jacob said turning away from Nate and opening the door to the room.

Nate watched as two bulky men entered the room and said a few low words to Jacob. Jacob then turned back to him and smiled.

"I have enjoyed our conversations Nathan Ford. Perhaps in another life, a life without the treachery of our wife, we could have been friends. But alas that was not to be. These two fine young men…" Jacob said nodding at the two large men. "Will be taking you to the place you will spend your last days. The drugs the doctor has administered to you will I am afraid make your last days…unpleasant."

"Wait…" Nate said as Jacob turned to leave.

"My dear man I assure you there is nothing you can say that will change my mind. This is how it has to be." Jacob told him.

"Just…just tell Sophie that I love her." Nate asked.

Jacob turned and stared at the man in disbelieve. Then shook his head and without saying anything left. The two men approached Nate and the last thing he remembered was a great meaty fist which connected with his face brining a shard of pain and then oblivion.

When he woke again it was dark. He could see nothing of what was around him, he could feel that he lay on cold concrete which made him shiver. It was deathly silent with only his ragged breathing to be heard. He hurt all over and he could feel dried blood which had coagulated under his nose from the punch the man had given him. He forced himself to his knees and moved until he felt his head hit the wall. It was hard and cold, concrete like the floor below him. He moved himself into a sitting position his back leaning against the wall. It must be night time he thought. He resigned himself to have to wait until some light came into the room before he could make any decisions on his next move.

Nate sat and wondered what was happening to Sophie and the others. He had no doubt that they would be looking for him and he firmly believed they would outsmart Jacob and they would come for him. He fell asleep propped up against the wall and when he woke again it was still pitch dark and deathly silent. Time had no meaning for him as he alternately sat and then lay down trying to curl himself into a tight ball to fight the cold. Pain wracked his body as the drugs did their job. He was not sure how long he had been there, however he estimated it had been at least a day or two, he was dehydrated and weak and that was when he realized that he was never going to see the light of day again. He was buried and this was going to be his tomb. Jacob had meant it when he said he was going to be lost forever buried somewhere nobody was going to find him. Nate pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He closed his eyes and pictured Sophie; she appeared before him dressed in a white wedding gown staring into his eyes as she promised to love him forever. Despite his pain, his fear and his despair, he smiled to himself. "_I love you Sophie"_…He whispered into the darkness.

**Thanks for the reviews they are most appreciated. Please keep them coming.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The four of them stood and stared at the man who seemed to have no regard for their further presence in the room.

"Hardison…Parker…take Sophie, I'll see you back at the pub." Eliot said not taking his eyes of the man sitting before him.

The two youngsters stared at the Hitter for a moment and then nodded. They did not know what Eliot was planning to do but they had an idea. Sophie stared at the Hitter and then at Jacob. She was not sure what Eliot's plan was, if he was going to torture the man she did not know to what end, she was sure he was not lying when he said he did not know where Nate is. If he was going to just simply kill him...well she decided looking over at Jacob and knowing that he had taken Nate from her, perhaps forever, she was alright with that too. She nodded to Eliot although he was not looking at her and then turned and left with the other two. Once they had left the room and closed the door Eliot moved to within inches Jacob who opened his eyes and smiled at the Hitter nonchalantly.

"I told you already my good man that I do not fear you."

"Maybe you should." Eliot said his voice low and hard, belaying the small smiled that played around his mouth.

"I don't know where Nathan Ford is." Jacob said feeling a sliver of fear run through him despite himself.

"I believe you." Eliot said.

"Then what…?" Jacob said shifting himself up in his chair. "Are you just going to murder me?"

"No... I don't do that anymore." Eliot said softly with the slightest tinge of regret in his voice. He would gladly have reverted back to his old profession, killing Jacob with ease and without remorse, but that was not who he was anymore and Nate would definitely not approve. "But you and I are going to have a conversation."

"About what…?" Jacob asked curious as to what the Hitter was up to.

"I believe you do not know where Nate is. But you hired a 'someone' to take him to wherever he is and I want the name of that 'someone' and you…" Eliot smiled down at the man. "My good man… are going to give it to me." Eliot finished reaching out and grabbing Jacob before the man even realised what was happening.

Eliot walked into Nate's old apartment above the pub to be met by three anxious people. He did not say anything just walking up to Hardison and handed him a slip of paper.

"What's this?" Hardison said unfolding the piece of paper and reading it.

"Two names…" Eliot said. "We find them…we find Nate." Eliot said simply. Then he turned and started climbing the stairs to the bedrooms.

"Eliot did you…" Sophie asked the question on all of their minds, but was unable to actually say the words.

Eliot turned and looked at the woman. He could see she had been crying. Her dark eyes bored into him the question was plain for him to read. He was just not sure what she wanted to hear.

"No…" He said softly holding her gaze. He was sure he saw a hint of disappointment in her eyes, but it was gone in a flash to be replaced with relief.

He smiled at her and then continued up the stairs and into the rooms to have a shower and change. It had been a long hard hour. Jacob may look meek and mild but he was obstinate and stubborn and had nothing to lose. Getting the two names out of him had taken Eliot back to a time he had hoped he would never have to revisit. He regretted nothing though, and if he had had to kill Jacob he would have done that as well, these people, these three people and Nate, were worth anything he had to do to keep them together and safe.

Hardison watched him go and then started tracing the two names on the slip of paper Eliot had handed him. He did not care how Eliot had got the names at all, just that he now had something to trace, a way to get to Nate. Sophie moved into the kitchen as Parker moved to stand beside Hardison as he worked. The despair of an hour ago had been driven back to be overtaken by a new sense of determination. They had a plan. They would find Nate and they would get him back. Thanks to Eliot, there was still hope.

**So will they find the two men and will they tell them where they hid Nate? Will Nate still be alive when they find him? Thank you for all the reviews they are all greatly appreciated.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It had taken Hardison longer than he expected to trace the two men. They were essentially two vagrants with no fixed address no registered vehicle, nothing he could easily trace. They had no bank accounts and had not submitted tax returns. They had both been in and out of jail multiple times for various crimes and he got as much information out of both the police and probationary officer files as he could. That led him to usual hangouts and haunts which Parker and Eliot painstakingly investigated. Finally they caught a break and that had led directly to them now being seated in their rental van outside a dilapidated house on the outskirts of Boston.

Eliot looked at the house, it looked abandoned and empty. Well if they weren't here now they would return. Patience was not something he was good at and he knew the others were the same. This situation was even worse. Every minute, every second counted. Nate could be dying…no Nate was dying, every minute they delayed could mean they would not be able to save him. He turned to the back of the van and looked into the anxious dark brown eyes of Sophie.

"Stay in the van Sophie. Hardison you stay with her." Eliot instructed. He did not want Sophie in harms' way and Hardison was not a fighter. "Parker…" He said as he exited the van. Parker looked at Hardison and gave him a quick peck before climbing out the back of the van and following Eliot towards the front entrance of the house.

Before either of them had gone halfway up the path leading to the front door, two shots rang out. Eliot pushed Parker sideways and to the ground and at the same time flung himself in the opposite direction. He felt the burn of a bullet as it brushed his arm in passing. Crawling behind a derelict car that was in the yard he looked over at Parker who had taken refuge behind a couple of metal barrels that lay strewed around. He motioned to her that she should stay put and that he would go in. Parker shook her head and pulled out her taser smiling at him happily and indicating that she would go around the back. They needed at least one of these guys alive if they were going to find out where Nate was.

"You ain't coming in here…" A voice wafted out of the house followed by a couple of shots fired in the direction of Eliot. "So just get back in your van and leave."

"Hey man we just want to talk." Eliot called back nodding at Parker in approval of her plan. She immediately turned and crawled to the edge of the barrels and measured the distance she would have to move to get to the next place she could take cover. "We are not armed…" Eliot called out. Then in order to give Parker some cover he stood up and waved his hands in the air.

As soon as Eliot stood up a barrage of shots were fired in his direction. He took cover hastily and immediately turned to see that Parker was gone. He smiled ruefully. That girl was a wonder.

"We don't want to talk to you. Mr Fletcher told us you might show up…now get before we decide to put you out of your misery too."

The implication of his words were not lost on Eliot. 'put you out of your misery too'…what did that mean. Had they already killed Nate? Eliot's gut turned at the thought.

"Look… whatever the man is paying you…I'll double it." Eliot shouted back. He needed to keep them busy and not concentrating on where Parker was.

"Don't want your money." A different voice belted out.

"Look guys I don't want to hurt you all…" Eliot said loudly, "But if you carry on like this you are going to give me no choice." Eliot shouted keeping their attention focused on him. His words were met with derisive laughs and a barrage of gunfire.

"You…are going to hurt US…" The voice called out followed by another slew of bullets that flew in Eliot's direction.

"I mean it guys…" Eliot called. He got no response. No shots, no laughing and not a single word. Eliot raised himself up exposing himself to the house and expecting bullets to start firing. None did.

"You coming in…?" Parker asked as she opened the door and stood there smiling at him.

Eliot shook his head then quickly made his way into the house. The two men lay stretched out on the floor, both of them unconscious. Eliot knew Parker had used her taser on them and that they would start to come round soon.

"Here…help me will you?" Eliot said looking around and finding some rope with which to tie the two up with.

Once they had the two tightly bound Eliot got a glass of water and poured the contents over the smaller of the two's face brining him rudely back to consciousness.

"Nathan Ford, where is he?" Eliot asked getting straight to the point.

"What…who…" The man asked still groggy from the shot of electricity he had received.

"I'm only going to ask this once." Eliot said bending over the man and looking him in the eye. "Nathan Ford…where is he?"

"Man I don't…" The man was cut off rudely by Eliot grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt and yanking him into an upright position.

"Don't mess with me man, I ain't in the mood and I have an itching to do some damage to somebody. You are going to be that somebody if you don't tell me now where Nathan Ford is." Eliot growled out his eyes burning like fire and his lips snarling at the man.

"Ok…Ok…" The man said seeing his own painful death in the Hitters eyes. The money wasn't worth that he decided swallowing hard. "We put him in the bunker."

"The Bunker…?"

"Yeah man…Fletcher said to put him where nobody will find him, well that's what we did."

"You buried him…?" Eliot asked his teeth clenched in anger.

"Where is this 'bunker'?" Sophie asked from the door where she had been standing and listening to the conversation.

"Out of town a ways on an old abandoned farm, used to be Otis' dad's place." The man told him, now that he had started talking he was willing to tell it all as long as this crazy man in front of him didn't kill him.

Eliot looked disgustedly at the man he held. He swallowed hard and then pulled the man closer his eyes blazing.

"Did you kill him?" Eliot hissed. Sophie gasped at the question and Parker and Hardison froze staring at the two men waiting for the answer.

"No man…we weren't paid to kill the guy, just get rid of him." The man said hesitantly. "Look we didn't lay a hand on him I swear."

Eliot stared at him assessing his expression. The man wasn't lying, they had not killed Nate. He pushed the man away with such force he fell backwards hitting his head on the hard concrete floor as he fell.

"You better tell Hardison exactly where to find Nate or I am going to come back here and next time…" Eliot did not finish his sentence, but he could see the fear on the mans' face as he stared to tell Hardison how to get to the 'bunker'.

They made sure that the men were securely tied before leaving. Eliot called 911 and told them that there had been shooting at the address and that he thought that the men inside had illegal guns and drugs. Parker drove and Hardison sat in front with her. Sophie and Eliot sat at the back and held on without saying anything about Parker's driving for once. They drove in silence. Nate had been buried alive more than two days ago. Who knows what kind of shape he had been in before he had been thrown into this 'bunker'. God only knew what they were going to find when the eventually got there, all of them feared the worst. That they would find Nate dead, that they would be too late.

Parker pulled up to the old farm house and they all piled out.

"Round the back..." Hardison shouted at them as they ran towards the spot that the man had described.

"Here…" Hardison said as they came to a metal trap door almost buried in the sand.

Eliot grabbed the handle and pulled, the lid did not move. Parker joined him and together they got the lid up. Eliot looked down the tunnel that had been exposed. There was a metal rung ladder running down and it was so dark Eliot could not see the bottom.

"Nate…" Sophie cried out looking down the hole.

Hardison handed Eliot a torch he always carried in his bag and the Hitter started down the stairs followed by Parker and the others. Once at the bottom they stood before a large thick metal door.

"Nate…" Sophie called again her voice loud in the confined space. They waited with baited breath but no answer came.

"He probably can't hear us behind this." Eliot said indicating the door.

Parker pushed Eliot out of the way and set to work on the lock. It seemed like hours before they heard the click and the door slid open.

**Sorry…but you know me and cliff-hangers…I just can't resist. But at least you all know I won't keep you hanging for too long. So what are the gang going to find? Is Nate alive or dead? If he is alive, what kind of shape is he in? What damage did the drug he was given do? Thank you all for the reviews, I love to read your comments on the story, it inspires me to keep going.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Nate half sat half lay on the hard concrete with his back against the wall. Time had passed although he was not sure how much. The total darkness and lack of any noise adding to his confusion of time and space. He was sure it had been a couple of days at least, but it could have been more, or less. He slept, or rather lapsed into unconsciousness periodically waking to the same darkness and silence. The pain had passed, his body no longer racked with the spasms that he had experienced before. Now all he felt was a growing numbness bordering on paralysis, he found it difficult to move his limbs, hence the position he found himself in, he was sure he should be uncomfortable but could not feel anything. His breathing had become very laboured and shallow and he could almost hear his heartbeat that pounded against his chest. His mouth was dry and his lips chapped. He knew he should feel something, yet he did not, even the pain from his fractured ribs no longer bothered him. He fought to keep his eyes open, talking incoherently to nobody, he just knew he had to stay conscious now if he was going to fight off his impending doom. Nate felt that if he did close his eyes it would be for the lasts time, he could feel his own death creeping up on him. Images flashed through his mind. Images of his father, his mother and his life as a child. Images of the birth of his son, his first marriage and the death of his son. Images of the team, his new family and all the times they had endured together, all the fun, laughter and heartache shared with them. Images of Sophie on their wedding day and all the other days that meant so very much to him. He could feel the tears on his cheeks but could not bring his hand up to wipe them away. He was not sure how long he had fought off the never-ending darkness but he was losing the battle now. His eyes grew heavy and his mind screamed out for him just to let go, to sink into the oblivion that called to him, to let this all come to an end. They were never going to find him anyway he told himself, and besides, he knew his life was over, he was dying and nothing was going to prevent that now.

He heard her voice calling his name in the darkness with such concern, such angst, such love. He knew it was only in his mind but it seemed so real. The light that shone on her, glinting off of her long black hair illuminating her as if she were in a spotlight, he was sure she was there for a moment kneeling beside him with tears staining her cheeks. Nate closed his eyes then giving into the call of death and letting the darkness finally take him, and as he fell he whispered his final words.

"It's ok my love…" He told the image of Sophie kneeling down beside him. "Don't cry…I will love you now and forever my beautiful Sophie." Then his head lolled to one side and he was gone.

"Nate…Nate…" Sophie screamed as she listened to the barely audible expression of his love for her and then watched in horror as his head sagged to one side limply.

Eliot moved forward pushing Sophie out of his way as he gave the torch to Parker to hold on Nate's still form. He gently moved the Mastermind out of his sitting position and laid him flat on the ground stretching out his long frame. Quickly he checked first to see if the man still had a pulse and sighed a deep sigh of relief to find he did, albeit almost non-existent. Next he checked his breathing. Then he ran his hands along the man's body checking for any open wounds. Finding none he looked up at Sophie.

"He's alive and doesn't seem to have any injuries." He told the distraught woman. "Let's get him out of here."

With that Eliot lifted the unconscious man into his arms carefully and made his way to the exit. He would have to sling him over his shoulder to get out. Carrying him carefully to the foot of the ladder he gently manoeuvred him onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Grabbing the first rung he climbed his way out of the dark black hole and into the bright sunshine outside. Once he was out he quickly lay Nate down again and started doing a thorough check of the Mastermind. He had obviously had a beating at some stage, probably earlier from when he was first abducted. He had needle marks on his arms which indicated he had been drugged.

"Eliot?" Sophie asked hesitantly looking down at the deathly white face of her husband and then at the worried, almost scared face of their Hitter.

"I don't know Sophie…" Eliot said softly. "He hasn't been beaten, he has no external injuries, and he hasn't been down there long enough to warrant this kind of dehydration. His vitals are weak…I just don't know." Eliot said his brow knotted in confusion. "He's been drugged and I don't know with what." Eliot told her. "We need to get him to a hospital and fast."

"I'll get the van" Hardison said as he ran off disappearing behind the building towards the van. Sophie and Parker stood a little way back, Parker holding onto Sophie as they stared down at the Mastermind who lay lifeless on the ground.

"Where the hell is he?" Eliot asked after a few minutes had passed Hardison had not made an appearance with the van.

Just then the van came around the corner and headed right up to them. Eliot saw it coming and then bent down to lift Nate once more into his arms ready to put him into the van. The van came to a full stop and Hardison climbed out of the driver's seat. Eliot noticed something was wrong by the look on the young Hackers face but before he could do anything the back door of the van slid open and five men climbed out all armed with guns which were pointed at them.

"So we meet again…" Joseph Kentakov said as he stepped out of the van behind his men.

"Joseph please…" Sophie said stepping forward in front of Eliot who still held Nate in his arms. "We need to get him to a hospital."

Kentakov stared at the woman and then back to Eliot and finally his eyes dropped to the still form being carried by the Hitter.

"So this is the man all the fuss is about?" He said. "Well he doesn't look too good I must say."

"He needs a hospital Joseph, please…" Sophie repeated herself in a pleading voice.

"Well that is too bad isn't it? You should have known better than to threaten me…" He said moving his eyes to Eliot. "You should have known better than to cross swords with me in the first place." He said softly. "I am sure you understand that I cannot let that pass. You really did not expect me to just allow your insolence to go unpunished, did you?"

Eliot said nothing. He cast his eyes between the five men and Kentakov weighing up his chances. He caught the eye of Hardison and gave the unspoken instruction to move when the action started. Then he slowly turned and handed the Mastermind over to Parker and Sophie who held him up between them, both ready for whatever came next. Kentakov and his men watched Eliot move, lulled by his slow movements yet still wary of what he was doing. Then before any of them could move he leapt forward, pulling the knife from its sheath and before anybody could do anything, he had Kentakov in his grasp the knife touching the skin on his neck.

"Anybody move and your boss here is going to be without a head." Then he pulled back on the man he held in his grasps' head exposing his neck even more and whispered in his ear. "If you value your life, you will let them leave."

Kentakov hesitated for a moment then nodded to his men. "Let them leave." He instructed as he felt the knife dig into his neck drawing a trickle of blood.

Eliot looked over at Hardison and nodded to him. The Hacker took his cue and climbed into the front of the van. Parker walked passed Eliot and climbed into the back carrying the Mastermind. Sophie hesitated, then walked forward stopping next to Eliot.

"Go Sophie…" Eliot said softly. "Get him to a hospital."

Sophie stood for a moment as if trying to decide what to do, then she placed her hand lightly on his shoulder in recognition of his instructions and recognition of what he was willing to sacrifice to save Nate. She climbed in the van and as soon as the door shut Hardison sped off in the direction of the hospital.

Sophie and Parker crowded around Nate, Sophie taking his hand in hers and holding on tight. Parker checking his vitals and willing him to stay alive. Hardison drove full speed, not even looking around. All of them wondered what was happening behind them with Eliot, but determined to honour his instructions and get Nate to a hospital as quickly as possible.

Eliot stood surrounded by the five men with weapons drawn. He held the knife to Joseph's throat not looking at the van which sped away. Nobody said anything as they stood facing each other. Eliot listened and then sighed heavily when he could no longer hear the roar of the vans engine. They were away, they were safe.

"I hope he was worth it." Kentakov said, not doubting for a second that Eliot would be dead in the next couple of minutes.

What happened next Joseph was not quite sure, but within only a few short minutes he was lying on the ground next to the bodies of his five men. He was not sure if they were dead but he was sure he should be. Eliot leaned over him and smiled a hard determined smile.

"I see you again. I will kill you." He said softly. "Tell me you understand Mr Kentakov."

Joseph cleared his throat and stared at the man nodding as he affirmed his understanding. This man was death itself and he had no intention of pursuing this any further for now.

"Good." Eliot said as his hand flew out and Kentakov was rendered unconscious by the blow Eliot landed. "And to answer your question…" He said moving his hair back and out of his face. "He IS worth it, and much…much more."

Eliot stood up and surveyed the damage he had done. Five men lay dead, or at least he figured they were dead, and one unconscious. He had had no choice, there was no time to be nice, to try to avoid killing. These were men trained with the use of weapons and they would not hesitate to kill him. HE walked away from the scene to the front of the house. There he found the vehicle Kentakov and his men had arrived in and climbed in. He gunned the motor into life and set off after his family. He had a feeling in his gut that this saga was far from over, no matter what happened with Nate. There were still too many loose ends, too much unfinished business, from both sides.

"Boston Medical Eliot." Parker's voice came over the coms. They had listened to everything and they probably knew what he had had to do. He heard no scorn in her voice, there was no reproach and no questions were asked. "He's still alive. The doctors have him."

**So do you think they were in time to save Nate or were they just too late? What damage has the drugs the doctor gave him done and are the effects reversible? Do you think that is the last they will see of Joseph? What do you think Jacob will do when he finds out they found Nate? Thank you to all of you who take the time to review the chapters, I really appreciate it.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Eliot entered the waiting area to find the three of them waiting anxiously for word of Nate's condition. Sophie looked a question at him and he shook his head slightly. He had not killed Joseph Kentakov, he just hoped he would not live to regret that decision. Sophie nodded slightly and then turned her head back towards the doors the doctor would emerge from. Parker sat beside her holding her hand in support and comfort, both for herself and Sophie. Hardison stood behind them. Eliot caught the Hackers eye and indicated they should step away. Hardison moved to the side and Eliot came to stand next to him.

"We need to keep an eye on Sophie at all times." Eliot whispered to him.

"What are you thinking…?" Hardison asked softly.

"I'm thinking Jacob Fletcher is not about to let her get Nate back and go on living happily ever after."

"Yeah…I was thinking the same." Hardison said. "What about Kentakov?"

"I don't know…" Eliot said hesitantly. He was not sure if the man would try again, but if he did he wanted to be ready for him.

"So both of them…Facial recognition on all camera's around the hospital, around the pub…" Hardison said making a mental list of what he needed to do.

His thoughts though were interrupted as a doctor came through the doors and walked towards them. Hardison's stomach knotted as he looked at the face of the doctor and saw bad news coming.

"Mrs Ford…?" The doctor said approaching Sophie who had stood up when the doctor walked through the doors.

"Yes…" Sophie said hesitantly. She could read faces, expressions and body language better than anybody, she knew that she was not about to get good news and she tried to brace herself for whatever the doctor was about to tell her.

"I am Dr Porter and I treated your husband when he was brought in." The doctor said softly. "Let's have a seat over here shall we." The doctor said indicating the seats they had just vacated. He took a seat beside Sophie turning toward her.

"Doctor…is…"

"No Mr Ford is still alive. I am afraid however that there is nothing more we can do for him."

Sophie gasped and grabbed Parkers hand squeezing it tightly and waited for the rest of the story.

"Your husband has not sustained any physical injury, however he has been administered a drug or a combination of drugs. We are not sure what the drug or drugs were, we are trying to isolate them now. However, the damage it has done is quite extensive and I am afraid to say it is causing his organs to shut down one by one. I am afraid that if we do not isolate the drug or drugs in order to counteract it there is nothing we can do." The doctor said then paused to allow that information to sink in.

"He's…there is nothing you can do?" Sophie asked her voice heavy with emotion.

"Not until we can identify the drug or drugs, and I must warn you Mrs Ford, even if we are able to give him something to counteract the effects, it may be too late for him."

"But if we get the drug, if we can identify it, there is still a chance?" Eliot asked.

"Yes, there is a chance. But as I said there has been extensive damage done already. Mr…"

"Eliot."

"Eliot, I am afraid if we are going to be realistic, then we must accept that the possibility of Mr Ford surviving this is very slim. I do not wish to be harsh, however I believe that being realistic is better for everybody concerned."

"Nate is going to die." Parker said almost to herself. She was trying to get her mind around that concept. How could Nate die now, after they had found him and rescued him, he couldn't die now.

"That is the most likely outcome. I am sorry." The doctor confirmed. "They are taking him to his room now. The nurse will come and get you. Again, I am very sorry."

"Thank you doctor." Eliot said not knowing what to say. His mind was racing. Nate was dying. There was nothing they could do. Nate was going to die, his mind kept screaming at him.

Sophie did not say anything. Parker sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug. Sophie allowed herself to be pulled forward but she was numb. She was going to lose Nate and it was her fault. She had killed the man she loved. Maybe not her directly but her past, he was paying the price for her mistakes. Parker looked up at Hardison over Sophie shoulder as she held her. Her eyes swimming in unshed tears.

Eliot looked at the three of them. His heart racing as he tried to suppress the anger and the frustration raging inside him. Then he turned to Hardison.

"Take care of Sophie." He said softly. "Remember what I said. Make sure she is safe."

"Where are you going?" Hardison asked as the Hitter turned away.

"Jacob Fletcher knows what drug he gave to Nate. He is going to tell me." Eliot said his voice hard and cold. He could not just wait around waiting as Nate slipped away. The doctor had said that even if they found the drug it was more than likely Nate would die anyway, but he was damned if he was not going to try, he would not give up, not until they pronounced the man dead, until then there was still a chance.

"I'll go with you." Parker said moving Sophie back into the chair.

"No Parker. You stay here, take care of her…If…" Eliot took a deep breath. "If I don't succeed or if…she's going to need you."

"Hardison…" Eliot said turning towards the Hacker.

"Go. I'll make sure they are taken care of." Hardison told the Hitter.

Eliot nodded and then looked down at Sophie who had not so much as looked at him or any of the others. She sat immobilised, her face streaked with tears. He moved over to her and sank to his haunches in front of her pulling her eyes to his.

"It's not over yet Sophie." He said softly. Sophie blinked away tears and nodded imperceptibly. Eliot laid his hand on her knee and smiled softly at her. "He's one hell of a stubborn man and it's not over yet."

"Go…" Sophie whispered.

Eliot nodded and stood up. He turned and made his way out of the hospital quickly. He had to get to Jacob Fletcher and he had to get the information he needed no matter what it took, no matter what he had to do, Fletcher was going to tell him what he wanted to know. Time was running out for Nate and there was no time to be subtle about his approach, Fletcher was going to find out just what type of a monster Eliot Spencer could become if he did not give Eliot the information he needed. Eliot drove at breakneck speed to the hotel they had met Fletcher in before. He hoped that the man would still be there. Once there he went straight to the penthouse suite, taking care of the two guards easily and entering. Once inside he took care of the three body guards who were in the sitting area of the suite. The doors to the bedroom were closed and Eliot knew Fletcher would be inside. As the last of the guards dropped Eliot burst through the bedroom doors. He halted at the sight that met him. Fletcher was laid out in the bed, his eyes closed. He had a drip attached to him pumping him full of medicine; he was as white as the sheets he lay on.

A nurse looked up as she heard the doors burst open. She did not look at all frightened, in fact she looked as if this happened to her all the time. Eliot determined she was no threat and made his way to the side of Fletchers bed.

"Is he conscious?" Eliot asked.

"My name is Vanessa Rich." She said softly in response holding out her hand to Eliot. "I don't know who you are or what you want but I do not want to get involved."

Eliot looked at her and smiled sweetly. "Eliot Spencer." He said by way of introduction before continuing. "I don't want you involved darlin' I just want to know his condition."

"Well I am afraid that Mr Fletcher slipped into a coma a few hours ago."

"I need to talk to him." Eliot growled out.

"Well unless you are going to hold a séance that is not going to be possible." The nurse said looking down at the sick man. "He will not last out the hour."

Eliot turned to look at the nurse trying to supress the wave of despair that washed over him at her words. She did not seem at all phased by the fact that he had burst in here and that there were bodies lying in the other room. He narrowed his eyes and gave her his full attention.

"Did you…attend to another man? Tall, black hair, name of Nathan Ford?"

"No." The nurse said without hesitation. "But maybe Doctor Bertrum did."

"Who's he?"

"Mr Fletchers personal physician and my employer." She said and Eliot could tell she had no love of the good doctor by the tone of her voice.

"Where can I find him?"

"I don't know, but I have to call him once Mr Fletcher has passed, so that he can certify the death certificate." She said.

"Call him now."

She looked at him and then smiled pulling out her cell phone. She dialled a number and waited as the phone rang putting it on speaker phone so that Eliot would be able to hear the conversation.

"Bertrum." The curt voice of the doctor answered.

"Dr Bertrum. Mr Fletcher has expired." Vanessa told him.

"I am on my way. I will be there in thirty minutes." The doctor said and then dropped the call. Then she cast her eyes into the next room. "You know he is going to be a little suspicious when he sees the scattering of bodies out there." She told Eliot raising her eyebrow at him. "I am sure there are at least two more at the entrance…am I right?"

"I'll meet the good doctor downstairs." Eliot said smiling at this nurse who seemed completely at ease and not least bit phased by what was happening. "You my darlin' will have to go into the bathroom and stay there for the duration if you don't mind."

Vanessa smiled back at Eliot and then moved back to Fletchers side. She looked at the man and then checked his pulse.

"Well at least I didn't lie to my employer." She said softly.

"He's dead?"

"Yes."

Eliot looked at the man and watched as she turned off the machines and pulled out the IV needle. Then she pulled the sheet up over him covering his body.

"I would appreciate it if you did not injure my employer…it's not the best job in the world but it pays well." Vanessa said once she was finished.

"I ain't making any promises." Eliot said indicating that she moved to the bathroom. "You have been very helpful, please don't try to get out or warn the good doctor…I would hate to have to…involve you in all of this." Eliot told her, his tone belaying the casual way he spoke. Then he closed and locked the door before making his way back out and down to the lobby.

Twenty minutes later Dr Bertrum walked through the door.

"Just keep moving." Eliot said as he slid in behind the doctor steering him towards the elevator.

"What are you doing?" The doctor asked in alarm but not turning around the face the threat. "Do you know where you are? I think you will find you have made terrible mistake, you picked the wrong man to rob." Bertrum said with confidence. He fully expected Fletchers security to rush out and take out the man trying to rob him.

"I know where I am and who you are. Mr Fletchers bodyguards are not going to come to your rescue so I would suggest you just do as I say."

Bertrum stiffened slightly at that but hustled to the elevator and climbed in with Eliot behind him. Eliot pressed the button for the penthouse and then turned the doctor around to face him.

"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Eliot told him mildly. "I don't mind either way."

"What is it that you want?" Bertrum asked. He looked the young, solidly built man in front of him over. He noticed that he was not armed, but decided that that did not make him any less dangerous, especially if he had disposed of the five guards that Fletcher had with him.

"You gave a drug to somebody, somebody Fletcher was holding. I want to know what you gave him and how to counteract it."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Bertrum said easily. The elevator reached its end point and the doors opened. Bertrum did not even see Eliot's fist before it landed sending him reeling into the living area. He stumbled and then tripped over one of the unconscious figures on the floor, sending him crashing down.

"The hard way it is." Eliot said softly as he followed the downed man.

"Wait…wait…" Bertrum said holding his hands up in front of him. "He told me to do it."

"I don't care about Fletcher, or you for that matter, just tell me what you gave Nate and how to stop the effects of the drug." Eliot growled.

"There is no way…" Bertrum started to say then looked into the glacial eyes of Eliot and swallowed hard. "There is no specific treatment." He corrected himself.

"The name…" Eliot said menacingly.

"I…it was a cocktail of drugs…" Bertrum stammered out.

"Write them down…" Eliot instructed him. "All of them and in what doses."

Bertrum took a pen and paper out of his bag and started to write.

"If he is in a hospital, they will know what to do." Bertrum said handing him the piece of paper.

"Good." Eliot said moving to stand towering above the man. "If I see you again…" Eliot said softly not even bothering to complete the threat. He could see that the doctor understood the threat clearly. He smiled at him and then slammed his fist into his face breaking the doctors nose and rendering him unconscious. "That is for Nate." He said turning away and walking into the bedroom.

"You are free to go." Eliot said opening the door and smiling at Vanessa. "Your boss is going to have a bit of a headache, but that's all." He said as they walked out into the living area to find the doctor lying prone on the floor with blood covering his face. "Tell him I meant what I said and I don't make idle threats."

"I hope your friend is ok." Vanessa called out as Eliot walked out the door.

"So do I…" Eliot breathed "So do I…"

Eliot listed the drugs the doctor had to Hardison who wrote them down and then handed them to the nurse telling her to get it to the doctor.

"Now all we can do is wait and hope." Hardison said as he watched the nurse scurry away.

"Yeah…I'll be there in a while. Fletcher is dead so all you have to worry about is Kentakov."

"Don't worry Eliot, I got us covered, just get here ok. It's not looking good at all man." Hardison said.

He knew that if Nate were to die, Eliot would want to be there with him and although Eliot now had the names of the drugs that Nate had been given, Hardison had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that they were too late. Eliot did not reply he simply sped through the streets towards the hospital.

**Thank you for all of the reviews. Next chapter coming soon.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Eliot headed straight for Nate's room when he got back to the hospital. He found the three of them waiting outside the room. Parker still sitting with Sophie, Hardison pacing anxiously behind them, when he saw Eliot arrive he moved to his side.

"The doc is in with him now." He told the Hitter in a hushed voice.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, just asked us to leave and that was just after you gave the list of drugs."

"What…how was he?"

"Not good man. Just after we left we could hear alarms going off…no code blue was called but something was definitely going down." Hardison replied.

"How are they?" Eliot asked absorbing the information that Hardison had imparted.

"Not good either. I never seen Parker so…" Hardison tried to find the right words but couldn't. "Not even when that phony psychic hit on her brother…she just…I don't know what she will do if Nate does die."

Eliot did not reply he just looked over at the two woman who sat huddled together staring at the door to Nate's room. Eliot was not sure what any of them would do if Nate did die. It would mean they failed. He would have got them out, he would have saved them and they failed him. But their guilt and regret would be nothing on Sophie's. He was sure she would see this all as her fault. Fletcher wanted to punish her and Nate paid the price, and if that price was his death…he might as well have killed Sophie as well. She would never recover from it, of that Eliot was sure. Tearing his eyes away from the two woman, he swept the halls pausing on each face he saw.

"Kentakov hasn't made an appearance, I've got the facial recognition running, if he steps foot in the hospital we will know about it." Hardison said watching the Hitter survey the area carefully.

"He won't come himself." Eliot replied. "He's too much of a coward for that."

"Great…" Hardison said. If he didn't come himself, if he sent somebody, how the hell was he supposed to give an early warning. He was going to fail again, next time it might be Parker that paid the price.

"Relax." Eliot said hearing the frustration and a touch of self-doubt and a hint of fear in Hardison's voice. "I don't think he will try anything here."

Silence settled over the two men who stood guarding the two woman who were completely absorbed with willing the door to Nate's room to open. The minutes dragged on, feeling like an eternity as the tension built. Eventually the doctor stepped out of Nate's room and came directly to Sophie.

"Mrs Ford we have administered some drugs that should help counteract the cocktail your husband was given."

"Are they working…?" Sophie asked anxiously watching the facial expressions on the doctors face and trying to read his emotions.

"I am afraid it is far too early to tell. There was no immediate reaction, however that is normal. The cocktail was particularly nasty in nature."

"What do you mean?" Eliot asked before Sophie could.

"The combination of the drugs you listed taken in excess and together, not only lead to extreme pain and discomfort they are also quite lethal. The drugs have worked their way through his system being absorbed by his tissue and his organs we may be too late to counteract the effects. You must understand that although we have given him medicine that usually counteracts some of these drugs, we have to be very careful not to exacerbate the problems. "

"So the good drugs could also kill him?" Hardison summarised.

"Precisely... Mrs Ford I am afraid that there is more bad news. Mr Ford's kidneys are no longer functioning, we have had to put him on dialysis to assist with this. His cardiac function is also very low, along with his respiration. Now if these continue to deteriorate we will have to put him on life support." The doctor paused and then proceeded with the most difficult part of any conversation he ever had with loved ones of patients. "Mrs Ford, if that does happen you will need to make the decision of whether to put him on life support or not. I know it is difficult to think about now, however I must tell you that, as I said at the beginning, the chances of Mr Ford recovering are slim. If you choose to put him on life support, it could be for an indefinite period and still he would never recover."

"If you have to you will take any and all extraordinary measures to save him…" Sophie said looking straight into the doctors eyes. She knew he was telling her to let Nate slip away peacefully if he deteriorated any further but she was not going to do that, she would fight, she would keep him alive even if it was only by the aid of machines. She was not going to be the one to say he was gone, she was not going to be the one that took his chance of recovering away from him, no matter how slim that chance was.

"Mrs Ford…"

"You heard her." Eliot said interrupting the doctor. He was not sure it was the right thing for Nate, but it was the right thing for Sophie and he would back her to the end.

"Very well." The doctor said sighing deeply. "The nurses are just finishing up with him and then you will be able to go in. We are still keeping him in an induced coma for now to give his body time to heal. We will monitor him closely and continue the regime of medication, that is all we can do for now."

"When will we know if it is working?" Hardison asked as the doctor stood.

"I cannot answer that. If the drugs are working he should show some improvement within the next twenty four to fourty eight hours. Until then, all we can do is wait and monitor him closely."

"Thank you doctor." Eliot said for the group.

"I am sorry I could not have better news for you." The doctor replied then turned and walked away leaving four very apprehensive and scared people in his wake.

**Nate is not doing well, there is still the threat from Kentakov, the team really have problems. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I will post the next one as soon as I can.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Fourty eight hours later nothing had changed. Eliot was not sure if that was good or bad. Nate's condition had not deteriorated but he had not improved either. It was as if they were stuck in limbo, not knowing what the outcome would be and it was driving them all a little crazy. The doctor had spoken to them that morning telling them that they were going to start weaning Nate off the sedatives and out of the induced coma. He was alone in the room with Nate that morning as Sophie had gone back to the apartment to take a shower and change, Parker had gone with her and Hardison was down at the canteen getting them some coffee. It had been a long two days during which none of them had wanted to leave Nate's side. Eliot stood beside the bed looking down at the Mastermind.

"I don't know if you can hear me Nate, but if you can, just know that we are all here, that you are safe and that we need you. I need you." Eliot told the unconscious man in the bed. "When you left you said to call if I ever needed anything, then you said I never did…need anything." Eliot said placing his hand on Nate's. "You were wrong then and you are wrong now. You gave me a family, I needed that. But more than that I need you, you are the one I think of if I want to…when the anger gets overwhelming at a mark and I just want to…to hurt something. You put me on the straight and narrow and you kept me there. So…" Eliot squeezed the man's hand gently. "So consider this that call Nate. I need something. I need you to come back to us."

Hardison stood at the door and listened to Eliot's heartfelt plea to Nate. He did not want to intrude, and he was sure that Eliot would not want him to know about it so he retreated back into the hall. Then he made a loud entrance into the room giving Eliot time to recover his emotions.

"Any change?" He asked as he handed the Hitter his coffee.

"No." Eliot said accepting the cup and taking a sip.

"You ever wondered…how he kept us together?" Hardison asked after a short silence.

"Yeah…but I still can't figure it out. I mean, you, me, Parker…It just seems so unlikely." Eliot said shaking his head. "Sophie I understand, she loved him, even before we came together, you could see it when we first met her. And him…hell he was besotted with her." Eliot smiled remembering that horrible play and the way Nate was entranced by the worst performance of Shakespeare he had ever witnessed.

"Amazing it took them so long to actually do something about it." Hardison agreed. "Sam was a lucky boy." Hardison said softly causing Eliot to smile. He knew what Hardison meant, even though the boy had had a short life, he had had a good father in Nate.

"Yeah he was."

"Anyway…" Hardison said hiding the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him. "I still don't know how he did it, but I'm just glad he did." Hardison said taking another sip of his coffee as silence fell between the two men.

"When do you think he's going to wake up?" Hardison asked after about five minutes of silence where the only noise was the comforting steady beat of the heart monitor attached to Nate.

"I don't know…doc said a couple of hours after they have weaned him off the drugs, but he was unconscious when we brought him in and he thinks…well Nate may not wake at all." Relaying what the doctor had told him earlier that morning when all of them were still sleeping. Eliot slept very little and when the doctor had made his rounds around two am they had spoken.

"What else did he say?"

"Nothing. He can't be sure what is going to happen until there is some development, either good or bad. Until then…we all just have to wait and see."

"You know she won't forgive herself right?" Hardison said changing the track of the conversation again.

"Sophie?"

"Yeah. She's going to blame herself."

"I know."

"It will kill her."

"I know."

"Parker too."

"Yeah."

"We couldn't have got to him any sooner." Hardison said wanting reassurance from Eliot that that was the truth.

"Hardison…we all did our best. We all…"

"Did our best yeah." Hardison said harshly, his voice full of self-recrimination. Their best just wasn't good enough.

"You know he isn't dead yet. So let's just concentrate on that ok?" Eliot said and then silence fell again as both men were consumed with their own thoughts.

"Is he awake yet…?" Parker asked as her and Sophie entered the room an hour later.

"No Parker. There has been no change." Hardison said getting up and giving her a peck on the cheek as a welcome back.

"Has the doctor been?" Sophie asked walking to Nate's side and running her hand gently over his forehead before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Not yet, said he would be back this afternoon." Eliot told her.

"Why don't you boys go get freshened up, we'll take the next shift ok." Sophie told them. They had not left Nate's side either and she was sure both of them also needed a shower and a change.

"Good idea." Eliot agreed. "See you in a couple of hours." Then he and Hardison left the two woman alone.

Sophie pulled a chair up next to Nate's bed and sat taking his hand in hers and running circles on his hand with her thumb as she sat staring at him, waiting for some sign of life. Parker pulled a chair up on the opposite side of the bed.

"When did you know you loved him?" Parker suddenly asked. The question took the older woman by surprise.

"What…?" Sophie asked thrown by the question.

"I'm sorry…" Parker said taken a little aback by Sophie's tone.

"No…no it's ok…" Sophie said smiling at the blonde woman, sometimes she forgot that as capable as this girl was she was still a little girl in so many ways. She knew that Parker's world was coming apart, as much as hers was. The question was odd, especially under the circumstances, but she knew it was probably Parkers way of trying to keep her mind off of what was happening, and what could happen. "When did I know I loved him?" Sophie said looking back at the still form of Nate and running her hand through his hair.

"Yes…I mean, you guys have known each other for such a long time and I just wondered, why did it take so long to…I don't know, tell each other?"

"I don't really know." Sophie said honestly. "I mean I knew I was attracted to him from the first time we met. He had such a…a presence about him." Sophie smiled thinking of their first meeting. "We were on opposite sides and he was trying to catch me but…but he was such a…a _gentleman_ about it all."

"Did you ever…I mean you know?"

"No…no…like I said Parker Nate was a gentleman. He was…is still the most honourable man I ever knew. I had seduced so many men, made them forget their wife, their girlfriend, their families…but Nate…" Sophie smiled down at her husband. "No matter how I tried, he would never cheat on his wife. He would never betray her trust, her love. "

"Just like he would never betray our trust in him..."

"Yes…yes Parker. We are his family now and he would never betray us, never abandon us…"

"We will never abandon him either. No matter what…no matter…" Parker said softly her eyes dropping down away from the older woman. Sophie stared at the young woman.

"No we never will Parker, no matter what." Sophie assured her, no matter if he lay here in this hospital bed forever, they would never forget him, never abandon him. She knew that was what the young woman was asking and although she was shocked to think that Parker could even contemplate it after all these years together and a little upset that she could believe that she Sophie would ever leave Nate because he was incapacitated, she could not be angry with her. Parker was a child who thought she was losing the man she held in the same regard she would a father, a man who had stuck by her, no matter what she had done, no matter what trouble she had caused, no matter how odd she was, how different, he had always stuck by her and had never abandoned her. He had given her something she had never had, a family and now with him lying here she was afraid of not only losing him but her family.

"Anyway…" Sophie said smiling at the young woman…"Back to your question. I knew I loved him from the very start Parker, I knew that I would never love another man the way I loved him. But I also knew he would never leave Maggie…so I just enjoyed our time together…I would run and he would chase, and occasionally I would let him catch me and he would let me escape, enjoying each other's' company when together and keeping tabs on each other when we weren't. But…but I never knew how much I loved him until…until he wasn't in my life anymore."

"After Sam?"

"Yes…he left IYS and…"

"And you."

"You know he never did." Sophie said her eyes filling with tears.

"What do you mean?" Parker asked confused.

"Did you ever wonder Parker? I mean during that first job, when he made us a team, when he put our family together…how did he know where to find me?"

Parker stared at her and then smiled as she realised what Sophie was saying. Nate had known exactly where Sophie was and what she was doing.

"Even though he was drunk and hurting and…and hopeless, he still…he still watched over me." Sophie said quietly.

"He loved you."

"Yes…he loved…loves me." Sophie said smiling through her tears. "It may have taken him an eternity to admit it, and I understand why it did…he loved me." Sophie said. "You know, he once told me he did not want another relationship, not with me, not with anybody…but I had patience and I waited and I…I…gently nudged him, showing him it was alright to love again, to love me."

"You conned him into a relationship?" Parker asked her eyes wide with surprise as she realised what Sophie was saying.

"Yes…in a way…he was my…my Masterpiece, the most valuable thing I ever stole…"

"His heart." Parker smiled.

"Parker…you know, he loves you too…he would never say it but he does, as a father would love a daughter. No matter what happens, that will never change." Sophie said. She realised as she spoke with Parker that even if Nate died, this was still her family and although she thought she would never survive if he didn't come through this, she knew that she had to carry on, for the sake of this family, a family that Nate had given her, to abandon them, would be the same as abandoning him.

"He's going to pull through you know. He's Nate, and Nate always comes through." Parker told Sophie sniffing back the tears that had formed.

"Yes he does doesn't he…he always comes through." Sophie said softly squeezing his hand gently. "He always comes through."

Silence then fell between the two woman and that was how Hardison and Eliot found them a few hours later. When Hardison walked in the room Parker rose and jumped into his arms holding on to him tightly.

"Hey girl…" Hardison said hugging her tightly. "Has something happened?" He asked fearfully.

"No nothing…" Parker said squeezing him tightly. "I'm just happy you are here." Hardison smiled and endured the tight squeeze, sometimes Parker really did not know how strong she was. Finally Parker pulled away and smiled at him giving him a quick kiss.

"No change at all?" Eliot asked checking out the machines and comparing the heartbeat, respiration, oxygen levels and blood pressure to what they were when he left.

"None." Sophie confirmed. "No sign of him waking either."

"Give it time Sophie, it's only been a few hours since they started weaning him from the sedatives."

"Good morning…" The doctor said interrupting their conversation as he entered the room followed by his nurse. "How is our patient today?"

"No change doc." Eliot said.

"Ok…well I need to check him over so if you could all leave for a few minutes." The doctor said. Eliot nodded and followed Hardison and Parker out. Sophie leaned over and kissed Nate whispering she would be back, then she followed the other three out.

About ten minutes later the doctor came out to speak to them.

"Ok so we have some good news." The doctor said smiling at Sophie. "Mr Fords kidneys have started to work again. We are going to take him off dialysis and see how well he copes."

"That is good news." Sophie said feeling optimistic for the first time since they had brought Nate into the hospital.

"Yes it is, it is an indication that the drugs are working. The effects of the cocktail he was given are wearing off and his body is trying to heal itself."

"So he is going to be alright?" It was a question but it was also a statement from the little Thief.

"Well we are far from out of the woods yet I am afraid. Mr Ford still has serious issues and he is non-responsive yet, which is worrying. He should have started showing signs on consciousness by now which he hasn't." The doctor cautioned. "But I am cautiously optimistic." The doctor said. "The nurse is just finishing up with him and then you can all go back in. I will see him again later this afternoon."

"Sophie…what's wrong." Parker asked as the Grifter suddenly burst into tears.

"Nothing…nothing Parker, I'm just…" Sophie sighed and wiped away the tears and smiled at the Thief. "I'm just relieved and happy." Sophie said. The doctors news although not all good, was the first real sign of hope in such a long time and she was just emotionally overwhelmed.

Just then the door opened and the nurse came out and told them they could go in. Sophie immediately stood and entered the room. Eliot grabbed Parker before she could follow the Grifter.

"Let's go give her some time with Nate ok? I think she needs it." Eliot told her.

Parker looked from Eliot to Sophie who stood leaning over Nate's bed. Then she turned and nodded to Eliot. He let go of her arm and walked to the door telling Sophie that they were going down to the canteen to get some food and coffee, that they would be back soon. Sophie turned to look at the Hitter and smiled mouthing the word 'thank you' to him and then turned back to Nate.

"Hey darling…the doctor said you were getting better." She said softly running her hand through his hair slowly as she spoke. "You are going to be fine my love, now all you have to do is wake up." She whispered. "I love you so much Nate, you will never know how much. You are my everything my darling and I need you to come back to me now, I need you to wake up Nate and tell me everything is going to be ok."

Sophie was not expecting any result from her words but suddenly she felt a twitch in Nate's hand.

"Nate…Nate…come on Nate wake up." She begged him squeezing his hand in hers and staring at his face. "Open your eyes Nate, I want to see your beautiful blue eyes please my darling." She said and she was sure she could see his eyelids fluttering as if he were trying to open them.

"Nate darling, it's time to wake up, you've slept long enough now, come on my darling…" She kept urging him on. Then she was rewarded with Nate opening his eyes and staring up at her.

"Soph…" Nate whispered, his voice hoarse and heavy with sleep. He sounded so very tired.

"Yes my love…Oh Nate…" Sophie said leaning in and kissing him gently. That brought a touch of a smile to the corners of Nate's mouth.

"Love you…" Nate said his voice fading slightly and then his eyes closed again and he was out.

"I love you too Nate, so very very much my darling." Sophie said her voice hitching with emotion as she ran her hand over his forehead and then down his cheek. Then she reached over and pressed the call button.

"Is something wrong Mrs Ford?" The nurse said hurrying into the room to find the older woman standing with tears streaming down her face.

"No…no he…he woke up." Sophie managed to get out wiping away her tears.

"Really…?" The nurse said moving to the bedside. She checked the vitals and then smiled up at Sophie. "I'll let the doctor know." She said then left Sophie alone with Nate again.

It was almost six hours later when Nate made another appearance. This time he managed to stay awake for a few minutes. The following twenty four hours Nate remained awake for longer periods of time and the doctor was very happy with his progress. It was three days later that he was given the all clear to go home of course with the caution that he should take it easy and that he would have to be back for frequent follow ups. Sophie pushed the wheelchair that carried him to the door of the hospital, although Nate had baulked at it, it was hospital policy that he not walk out. The doctor had accompanied them to the exit and smiled as Nate stood and faced him.

"Thank you…" Nate said holding out his hand.

"It was a real pleasure Mr Ford, but you need to thank them because if they had not discovered what drugs you had been given you would not be standing here today. Just remember to take it easy, you are still going to need some time to recover all your strength."

"I know…" Nate said smiling at Eliot. "Don't worry…I don't think I will be allowed to overdo anything." Nate told the doctor as he shook the man's hand. Then he turned and climbed into the back of the van with Sophie following him in a bright smile on her face.

**Nate is better and is going home. All seems well, but is it? Thank you for all of your reviews, please keep them coming, I love to know what my readers think of each chapter and the story as a whole.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Over the next few weeks things got back to normal. Although Nate was still recovering his full strength things were going well. Sophie went back to her theatre and carried on with the play. Parker, Hardison and Eliot stayed with them. By the end of the second week Nate had called a meeting with everybody on the Monday morning. They all gathered around the breakfast table having just finished clearing the table they all took their seats and looked to Nate for what he wanted.

"Ok guys…look, I think it's time for you all to go back to work. I mean, we are grateful for your being here and everything but really, I think it's time.

"You tired of us man?" Hardison said trying to put as much hurt into his voice as possible.

"No, no, no…well…yes actually." Nate smiled at the Hacker.

"Nate, Kentakov is still out there, Hardison hasn't been able to track him from after the farm and he could still be coming for Sophie, and you ain't a hundred percent yet."

"I don't think so Eliot. I mean if he wanted to come for me or Sophie he could have already. It's been two weeks."

"I still think we need to stay here a while longer." Eliot said softly. He did not like leaving Sophie unprotected. Nate was growing in strength but he was not back to normal and Kentakov was a very dangerous man.

"Eliot, you are no more than a phone call away. I promise I'll stay alert. Hardison has so much security up around here nothing is getting in without us knowing. I really think it's best you guys get back home. You can't keep playing babysitter forever you know..." Nate told the Hitter, then seeing the hesitant look in Eliot's eyes he carried on. "I honestly don't think Kentakov is going to make another move, and if he does…well we'll be ready for him this time."

"You can't know that though and if he does and we are not here…" Parker said pouting her disapproval of Nate's suggestion that they leave. She had nearly lost him once and she was not about to let that happen again, she was prepared to stay in Boston until such time as Kentakov was definitely no longer a threat. It crossed her mind that none of this would be a problem if Eliot had just killed the man, but immediately she dismissed the idea, Eliot did the right thing.

"Parker darling, we will be careful I promise, and the first sign that something is out of place we will call."

"Fine..." Eliot said although he was not happy at all.

"Ok…good." Nate said clapping his hands together. "It's settled then."

"Yeah…it's settled." Eliot said his voice still conveying his unhappiness. Nate chose to ignore the tone and stood up smiling at all of them.

"Sophie and I have plans for this evening so why don't we all go out for lunch and then you guys can go back to Portland." Nate said, implying that they should use the morning to pack and be gone by the end of the day.

"In a mighty hurry to get rid of us ain't you?" Eliot said softly. He knew Nate did not mean anything by it, he and Sophie just wanted some time together alone and he could understand that, they had not been left alone for a minute since they got Nate back home, but he was not sure that leaving them alone was a good idea.

"Oh Eliot…"

"No…no I understand trust me..." Eliot said before Sophie could say anymore.

"Yeah we all understand." Hardison said but his tone showed just as much hesitancy as Eliot.

"Ok well Sophie has to drop by the theatre this morning and I'm going to go with her, so what say we meet at the restaurant at about two?" Nate said raising his eyebrows in question.

"I'll go with you guys…" Eliot immediately responded.

"Not necessary Eliot. We'll see you at the restaurant ok?" Nate said insistently.

"Fine..." Eliot said through his teeth.

"Right…" Nate said picking up his keys and turning to his wife. "Ready…?"

"Ready…" Sophie said smiling at him and taking his proffered arm. "See you guys later…" She said over her shoulder as they walked out of the apartment.

Nate had just closed the door when Hardison turned to Eliot with an incredulous look on his face.

"Are we really going to leave them alone with Kentakov still out there?"

"Don't be an idiot Hardison…" Parker said she had no doubt whatsoever that they would not be going anywhere until Nate and Sophie were in no danger from Kentakov.

"Yeah Hardison don't be an idiot." Eliot smiled at the Hacker.

"Ok well I have organised hotel rooms for all of us and a car. Shall we pack?" Hardison said brining a smile to Parker's lips as he spoke.

"Cool…" Parker said kissing the Hacker as she bounced past him to go to the room to start packing.

Hardison watched her go then opened up his laptop as Eliot came to join him at the table.

"Tracking devices…more than one and listening devices, we can hear them and monitor them at all times. Both are covered, so even if they are separated we can keep tabs." Hardison said.

"Nate will kill us…" Eliot said yet he was not at all disdainful at Hardison efforts.

"Yeah…well he's got to find out first." Hardison said smiling. "Now I put this on all the phones so we can watch them wherever we are."

The rest of the morning was uneventful for both Nate and Sophie and the rest of the team. They met up at the restaurant and enjoyed a good lunch together. Then all of them made their way back to Nate's place before Parker, Hardison and Eliot took their leave, ostensibly to head to the airport to get their plane back to Portland.

"That is a very unhappy bunch." Sophie said watching them leave.

"Well…they had to leave sometime." Nate smiled as he put his arm around his wife. "Meanwhile, we have our house all to ourselves for the rest of the day…" He said turning her to face him and kissing her gently. "What are we going to do with the time…?"

"Oh I am sure we can think of something…" Sophie said wrapping her arm around his waist as they walked back to the house shutting the door behind them.

"Well Mrs Ford…" Nate said between kisses "Shall we adjourn to the bedroom?"

"Yes Mr Ford…" Sophie said a serious note entering her voice. "You do need your rest." Sophie said smiling seductively at him.

"Oh really…" Nate said grabbing her and pulling her into him.

"The doctor said…" Sophie stopped talking as Nate kissed her leaving her breathless. Then he held out his and which she took and they walked into their bedroom.

They both stopped dead in their tracks as they entered the room to find they were not alone. Sitting on the bed was a well-dressed man who was smiling humourlessly at them. The door closed behind them and Nate turned to see a huge man with a gun standing in front of it, blocking their retreat. Nate closed his eyes and squeezed Sophie's hand gently. How the hell did this man get into their house without Hardison's security measures stopping him, or at least giving off some kind of warning Nate thought to himself before he greeted the unwelcome guest.

"Joseph Kentakov I presume…? "

**Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. Sorry for the cliff hanger but you know I do love them. Please keep the reviews coming as I love your feedback.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Joseph Kentakov I presume…?" Nate said with a tight smile on his lips.

"Mr Ford. You are looking quite well, at least a lot better than when I last saw you." Kentakov said, then he turned his eyes to Sophie. "And you my dear look as ravishing as ever."

"What do you want Kentakov?" Nate asked looking from Sophie to Joseph.

"Well Mr Ford, I want what I was promised…"

"And what was that?"

"One night with Katherine, oh I am sorry Sophie here…"

"What…?" Nate said genuinely taken aback by Kentakovs' words.

"Oh…" Kentakov said raising an eyebrow and smiling at Nate sadistically. "Did your lovely wife not tell you she offered herself to me…one night of bliss in exchange for 'The Crow'"

Nate stared first at Joseph and then Sophie. She looked embarrassed and even a little guilty as Nate's eyes bored into her. She had decided not to tell Nate about that part of the deal, she did not think he would understand that she was willing to sleep with another man to protect him, to get him back, she knew he would never approve.

"Well the way I see it Kentakov, Sophie was not the only one to renig on the deal." Nate said regaining his composure.

"Ah yes…the painting." Kentakov said. "A slight misunderstanding…"

"There was no misunderstanding Joseph. You were supposed to give me the painting, and as you recall you were not in a position to do that." Sophie said. It was out now and they would deal with the fallout from what she had done, or offered to do, but only after they had got themselves out of this particular situation.

"Ah yes…but only after she came through on her side of the deal. She never did, instead she and her friends put me in a very bad light with my colleagues, she put me in a very difficult position and she also…or rather her pet dog Eliot Spencer actually threatened me. I cannot allow that to go unpunished." Kentakov said talking to Nate rather than Sophie. "I am sure you can understand that Mr Ford. Now I am prepared to forget those slights to me if and only if Sophie here fulfils her part of the original deal."

"No deal Kentakov." Nate said emphatically.

"Now that is a pity Mr Ford because I truly do admire you, and it would be such a shame to kill you, but Henry here will shoot you down like a dog at my say so." Kentakov said nodding to his man who moved in behind Nate and put the gun right up against his back.

"Now maybe you should think about this for a minute. I mean you know who our friends are. Eliot will not be very forgiving if you kill me. He will hunt you to your grave and you know it." Nate said softly. "You can't hide from them."

"Oh I don't intend hiding from them Mr Ford." Kentakov said with such surety in his voice it caused Nate to raise his eyebrow in surprise. "They have been taken care of." Then he looked at the two of them and laughed a sour humourless laugh. "Don't look so surprised my dear. I am not a man with without means. The Eliot Spenser's of this world work for me and they are a dime a dozen."

"How did you get in here?" Nate suddenly asked drawing Kentakovs' attention to him.

"Well I must admit that your Mr Hardison is quite a capable young man, but when I realised who I was up against, again I hired one just like him, only better…Thieves, Hackers and Hitters are easy to come by Mr Ford, you are not the only one with a team you can call on."

"So what now Kentakov?"

"Well Mr Ford, I am a reasonable man so I will once again offer you an exit. Mrs Ford here comes with me now and fulfils her end of our original deal and I will leave you in peace." Kentakov told the Mastermind. "If you do not agree to that I am afraid I am going to have to deal with you the same way as I have dealt with your team. It is your choice. Think about it, it is after all only one night in exchange for your lives…that seems like a good deal to me." Kentakov said but he was not looking at Nate but at Sophie. He was telling her that she had to choose between Nate dying or spending the night with him.

"It seems you are a little slow on the uptake Kentakov…"Nate said smiling as if he had no care in the world. "No deal. Now I would ask you to leave my house, me and my wife have some unfinished business." Nate said shocking not only Kentakov with his demeanour but Sophie too.

Joseph Kentakov looked at Nate with complete disbelieve at his attitude, then his expression turned hard and he nodded to the goon standing behind Nate. The click of the gun was almost deafening to Sophie and that was when she stepped forward.

"No Joseph please…I'll go with you…"

"Sophie…"

"I'll go with you just leave him alone." Sophie said ignoring Nate.

"I knew you would be sensible my dear, you were always so…pragmatic." Joseph said placing his hand on Sophie's cheek as he spoke. Nate moved forward only to be restrained by the man behind him.

"Sophie don't do this." Nate pleaded.

Sophie turned to Nate and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. She walked to him and leaned in placing her lips on his. Then she pulled away again and smiled sadly at him.

"You are everything to me and I will not let this man kill you…" She whispered. "Forgive me my love."

Nate blinked a few times as he stared at Sophie and heard her words of love. Then he straightened up and stood facing Joseph ignoring the man behind him.

"If you touch my wife, I will kill you." Nate said his voice hard and devoid of all emotion.

Joseph laughed at him and took Sophie by the arm, pulling her into him. That was when all hell broke loose.

**Sorry…another cliff hanger. I promise the next chapter is coming shortly. Thank you all for taking the time to review, I really appreciate them.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Nate stepped back suddenly taking the burly man behind him by surprise. He threw his elbow into the man's stomach causing him to double slightly and then turned in one fluid motion his fist coming round to connect with the man's jaw, sending him reeling backward. Sophie saw what Nate was doing and dug her heel into Joseph's foot causing him to scream out in pain, however he did not release his grip on the Grifter. She brought her fist around and sunk it into Joseph's face forcing the man to release her and take a step backwards, in doing so he tripped over the edge of the bed and fell heavily to the ground.

Nate did not turn to see what was happening with Sophie, he was more concerned with the goon who still held a gun. He moved forward just as the man lifted the weapon on him. Grapping the man he wrestled with him until both went to the ground. Nate was not exactly sure what happened next but the wind was knocked out then he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and as he collapsed to rolling of the man he had pinned beneath him he heard a gunshot followed by Sophie screaming, fear flooded through him as he heard the scream and he wanted to turn and help her but he found himself unable to move and then darkness took him.

Sophie turned after she had watched Joseph fall to see what was happening with Nate. She saw him fling himself at the man with the gun and then they both fell to the ground in a heap. She heard the gun go off and screamed out Nate's name as she saw him go limp. Then she felt herself being pulled backward as Joseph made his feet again. She was swung around to face the man who now had trickles of blood running from his nose an indication that her punch had broken it. Sophie was frantic as she fought the man with everything she had lashing out at him in order to try to get to Nate.

Then suddenly Joseph straightened up and then collapsed at her feet. She was left staring into the face of Parker who held a taser in her hand. Her face was grim and streaked with dirt and some blood from cuts she had. Sophie swung around just in time to see Eliot drop the lifeless Henry to the ground before rushing to the side of Nate.

"Eliot…" She asked pleadingly as she watched as Eliot felt for a pulse.

"He's alright…Nate…" Eliot said tapping Nate's face lightly. "Nate…come on man…" Eliot said. He was rewarded with a moan and then Nate's eyes opened, they were unfocused for a few seconds and then Nate suddenly tried to get into a sitting position calling out Sophie's name.

"It's ok Nate…I'm Ok…" Sophie said taking his hand.

Nate stared at Sophie for a few seconds and then closed his eyes and drifted back into unconsciousness.

"He's out…" Sophie said looking down at Nate's pale features as she reached out and put a hand on his forehead. He was drenched with sweat from his efforts fighting Joseph's hired man. Sophie looked up at Eliot who also appeared dirty and dishevelled.

"What happened?" Sophie asked as Hardison and Parker joined the two of them.

"We had some…trouble." Eliot said slowly not really wanting to get into the details right then, his main concern was Nate and making sure that the two unconscious men in the room could present no further threat to anybody.

"Let's get him to a bed shall we?" He said as he stood up and lifted Nate up with him. "Parker, Hardison, take care of these two." He instructed as he carried Nate out and into the spare bedroom down the hall.

By the time Eliot had got Nate into the room and had checked him thoroughly for any injuries Parker and Hardison had joined them. Sophie surveyed her family closely.

"So you going to tell me what happened?" She asked quietly.

"Kentakov thought he could take us out of play." Eliot replied.

"He was wrong." Parker continued for him.

"On so many levels…!" Hardison said vehemently, he was still incensed by the fact that Kentakov's comments about the team.

"I told you it was not a good idea for us to leave." Eliot said in his 'I told you so' voice.

"Yes…well…" Sophie feeling slightly sheepish at his accusatory tone, she knew Nate had been a bit hasty but she had wanted to be alone with him as much as he had wanted it.

"No matter…" Eliot smiled at her. "Kentakov went after us as well, so it's neither here nor there." He said letting her off the hook.

"He's going to be fine though right…?" Sophie said resting her hand gently on Nate's cheek.

"He'll be fine. He took a hit to the head from the butt of the gun and I think he might have over did it just a little trying to take on that guy…but he'll be fine." Eliot said looking down at the Mastermind. That had been a close call and although he was fairly impressed with Nate's work, he was just relieved that it had not cost the Mastermind dearly. They all could have died today, Parker, Hardison and himself included and he was still very angry with himself for not seeing that Kentakov would have come after them as well. He had underestimated the man and that was something he was not going to do again. It was his job to protect his family, he was supposed to take the hits not them, and for the second time within a few weeks he had failed to do so.

"Well I think we could all do with some cleaning up." Sophie said looking from one to the other. They all looked like they could do with long hot shower and change of clothes.

"Speaking of cleaning up…what are we going to do with those two?" Hardison said looking at Eliot questioningly.

"For now, just keep them locked up. Hardison he might have people coming for him."

Hardison looked at the Hitter. He was still not quite sure how Kentakov had hacked his system and got into the house unbeknownst to anybody, but he was damned if it was going to happen again.

"I got it covered."

"Good." was all Eliot said, this was not the time to point out to Hardison that he could not make the same mistake again. Besides he had made a mistake today as well and it had almost cost them their lives.

"Ok…well now that that is decided I am going to have a shower." Sophie said. She could see the tension between Hardison and Eliot. She knew it was not because they blamed each other for the days' events, it was because they blamed themselves and were scared silly by what could have happened. "I suggest you all do the same, then we can have some food and when Nate wakes up we can decide what to do from there."

"Sounds like a good deal." Eliot agreed and headed for the door followed by Parker and Hardison.

Sophie watched them leave and then climbed on the bed next to Nate.

"You have to stop doing this Nathan Ford…" She whispered to the sleeping man. "That is the second time in a very short space of time that I almost lost you, and I can't lose you, you hear me." Sophie smiled down at her husband and then kissed him lightly on the forehead before heading to the bathroom.

**So everything seems to have turned out alright, but how are Nate and Eliot going to make sure that Kentakov never bothers them again? Is the danger now truly over? Thank you all so much for your reviews. I look forward to reading your thoughts on this chapter too. I will post the epilogue as soon as possible.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Nate woke to find himself on a comfortable bed with Sophie curled up beside him. It was dark and he surmised he had been asleep for a while. He was not quite sure what had happened, his last memory was of a blow to the head and then a scream from Sophie. Obviously something had happened that had turned the odds in their favour and he was betting it was his team that had come to the rescue. He carefully maneuvered himself away from the sleeping woman beside him and sat up on the edge of the bed, he had a hell of a headache and just for a second felt a little dizzy. He could feel some aches and pains in the rest of his body but nothing serious. He had obviously not taken a bullet. Sliding himself off the bed he stood swaying for a few seconds before making his way to the door of the room. Sophie made a small moaning noise and he turned back afraid he had woken her, which he was grateful he had not done. He opened the door a crack to find that the lights down the hall were on, somebody was in the living room and he was willing to be it was Eliot who never really seemed to sleep. Walking very slowly and using the wall as a sort of prop he moved toward the living area. He wanted a cup of coffee and he wanted to know what had happened, in that order.

"Hey there…" Eliot said lifting his head as he heard Nate shuffle down the corridor. "You should not be out of bed." He said getting up and helping Nate to a chair.

"Need coffee…" Nate said sitting down gratefully.

Eliot nodded then headed into the kitchen to pour him a cup of steaming hot black coffee. Putting the coffee down in front of the Mastermind he took a seat at the table with his own cup.

"What happened?" Nate asked taking a sip of his coffee.

"Kentakov." Eliot stated.

"Yeah Eliot I know that, but what happened…?" Nate repeated. He might be a little groggy and his memory of the events were vague, but he was still observant enough to see the cuts on Eliot's face and notice that the Hitter was a little sore.

"He came after us. We took care of his guys and then arrived here just in time." Eliot said succinctly.

"As I recall you were a little late." Nate smiled at the Hitter. Eliot never did like to expand on what he had had to do to get the job done, and Nate was sure that he had had to overstep his line in the ground to get the job done. "Close call…for all of us."

"Too close Nate." Eliot agreed.

"What happened to Kentakov?"

"He's in your room. His man too, I thought I had killed him but…" Eliot told the Mastermind.

"Wondered why I was sleeping in the spare room." Nate said sipping at his coffee. "What's your plan?"

"Don't have one…" Eliot said but Nate knew his plan would be to eliminate Kentakov permanently. He was amazed actually, after everything that happened, that the man was still breathing.

"Well we'll have to come up with one, because I want my bedroom back." Nate said keeping the conversation light. He drained the last of the coffee and then smiled at Eliot. "I think I'll just go back to bed now." He said then looked at his Hitter with a concerned look on his face. "You need to get some rest Eliot. It's been a hard day."

"I will." Eliot told the Mastermind as he helped him out of the chair.

"Thanks…" Nate said then stared shuffling off down the passage. "Rest Eliot…" He called over his shoulder. He knew telling the Hitter to sleep was pointless, but he wanted the man to at least get some downtime. "We'll sort it all out in the morning."

Eliot watched the Mastermind shuffle along and smiled as he heard his words. He would rest when Kentakov was no longer a problem, until then, he was not taking anything for granted. The fact that Kentakov was here in this house with them did not make him feel any better either. He was prepared for an onslaught of his men coming for him, as unlikely as that was, he was not prepared to be caught off guard again. Nate would come up with a plan for the man in the morning, of that he had no doubt, but until there was a plan and they had carried it out to a satisfactory conclusion, Eliot was going to assume the worst was about to happen.

Nate walked into the room and closed the door stopping to lean against it and just look at the woman lying in the bed. He loved her so damn much and it scared him that he had come so close to losing her, to losing everything including his life. He made his way to the bed and carefully climbed in trying not to wake her.

"Where've you been?" Sophie asked sleepily as she wrapped herself around him once he was under the covers again.

"Coffee…" Nate said softly.

"You ok?"

"Fine."

"Nate…" Sophie said as she rested her head on his chest. "I…"

"Don't Sophie, it doesn't matter, we all did what we had to."

"I love you, you know that."

"I know."

"Sometimes it scares me how much." Sophie said as tears welled in her eyes.

"Me too…" Nate said pulling her impossibly close to him. It often scared him how much he loved not only her but the other three as well. If anything should happen to any one of them he was not sure what he would do.

"What are we going to do about Joseph?"

"I don't know."

"He's a very dangerous powerful man Nate."

"No more so than some of the others we've dealt with. They all want something Soph, we just have to find out what it is and then give it to him."

"True…" Sophie said rising onto her elbow and leaning over to kiss him. "I know you'll come up with a brilliant plan that will solve everything."

"Such confidence Mrs Ford…" Nate said kissing her lightly. "I don't know if I deserve that."

"Oh you do Mr Ford…and so much more." She said playfully.

"Well if I am going to come up with a brilliant plan I will need my beauty sleep."

"Mmmm…" Sophie said snuggling back down in the bed and resting her head on his chest again. "I love you Nathan Ford…" She whispered closing her eyes and then drifting off to sleep closely followed by Nate.

The next morning they all sat around the breakfast table waiting anxiously for Nate who had gone in to speak with Joseph Kentakov. He had been busy the entire morning in his little office with the door closed, Hardison had tried to pry but had got nowhere. Nate had insisted he go in alone to see Kentakov much to Eliot's disdain and that was more than an hour ago. Eliot paced outside the door completely focused on listening for any sound out of place, he was like a caged tiger ready to strike at the first sign of trouble. Sophie sat fidgeting at the table with a cup of tea which had long since gone cold in front of her. Parker sat staring intently at the door to the room and Hardison watched Eliot pace, ready to join in any action that may have to be taken.

"What the hell is he doing in there?" Hardison muttered after another tense half hour had passed.

"Making a plan..." Parker said not taking her eyes of the door. She also wanted to know what Nate was doing for so long behind closed doors with a man that had tried to kill not only himself but her, Parker and Hardison.

"Well I wish he would hurry up." Hardison complained. He could not take much longer of this waiting.

"He'll be done when he's done." Sophie said sighing heavily. There was nothing they could do but wait.

"What kind of a deal is he making do you think…" Parker asked, she was really curious as to how Nate was going to convince Kentakov to leave them alone, what would make the man do that considering everything that had gone down. "I mean what would make Kentakov back off now?"

"I don't know Parker, but you know Nate…"

"Yeah…we know Nate." Eliot said and his tone indicated that he knew the man well enough to know he could come up with the most outrageous things and make them work, despite the fact that they should not. He also knew that Nate was crazy and reckless when it came to protecting his team, his family and Eliot worried what the man might give Kentakov to ensure that they were safe.

They all had to endure another full half hour before the door to Nate's bedroom opened and walked out with Kentakov walking beside him and the bodyguard following behind. Neither of the men's hands were bound and Kentakov was smiling. Eliot immediately tensed up his eyes slitted and loathing emanating from every pore as he watched the arrogant man walk with Nate to the door.

"Joseph…" Nate said walking the man to the door and holding out his hand.

"Nathan." Joseph said taking the proffered hand, before turning and leaving the building with Henry following looking in severe pain and not quite able to walk properly.

Parker also watched closely, her muscles tensed like an elastic band pulled to its tightest and ready to snap at any moment. He eyes widened as she listened to Nate greet the man and shake his hand affably as if they were old friends.

Once Nate had seen Kentakov and his man out the door and closed it he turned back to the team and blew out a long breath.

"Ok…shall we try this again?" He said smiling as he walked to the table and sat down.

"Try what again?" Eliot growled.

"You leaving…" Nate said smiling at the Hitter.

"Nate…" Sophie said in a voice he knew very well, she was dying of curiosity.

"What did you say to him man?" Hardison finished the question she was going to ask.

"Well…I gave him what he wants." Nate said rubbing his hands together and smiling. "I'm starving…"

"And what exactly was it he wanted?" Sophie asked she was not going to be deterred from finding out what the Mastermind had done to bring about the peaceful solution to the problem.

"Life without…complications..." Nate said cryptically.

"That is not an answer." Sophie pouted. When she saw that he was not going to elaborate she rolled her eyes at him. "Oh for goodness sake Nate just be straight will you." She said in an exasperated tone.

"I told you Soph he wanted life without complications and that's what I offered him, I don't know how much clearer I can be. Now I really am hungry, shall we go to lunch?"

"It's a bit early for lunch Nate." Sophie smiled at him, she knew by his tone he was not going to say any more on the subject.

"Well an early lunch, that way you all…" He said looking from Parker to Hardison to Eliot. "Will have just enough time to make your flight which I booked for you."

Eliot stared at the Mastermind. He could see by the look on Nate's face that the danger really had passed. Kentakov would not bother them again. He had no idea what Nate had said or done to make that happen, and he was sure he would never really know. Nate was not the most forthcoming man he had ever met. He was however sure that whatever it was, Nate had made sure that they were safe, all of them.

"Ok…but I'll cook." Eliot said accepting the fact that the danger had passed and relishing the idea of a family dinner, one where they all sat around the table eating his food, it had been too long.

Later after lunch was finished and the three younger members of the team were in the kitchen cleaning up Sophie turned to Nate and smiled.

"Life without complications…?" She said raising her eyebrow at him.

"Yes…we both got what we want."

"And what is it you want?"

"You…and them. My family…safe and sound." Nate smiled at her.

"Well we better get going if we are going to get that flight." Eliot said leading the other two out the kitchen and stopping Sophie from asking what she really wanted to know, what was it that Nate had offered Kentakov?

"Right…right." Nate said standing up and pulling Sophie up with them.

Once the team had their bags they stood outside at the rental van saying their goodbyes.

"Eliot…thank you." Nate said softly.

"Just try to stay out of trouble will you?" Eliot said shaking his hand.

"We will." Nate smiled stepping back to stand beside Sophie. "The same goes for you."

After the hugs and the handshakes they took their leave and Sophie and Nate watched them drive away.

"So Mrs Ford…" Nate said turning around and leading Sophie back to the house. "What say we also try this again…?" He smiled at her.

"Oh Nate you are a very bad man…" She said closing the door behind them and then falling into his waiting arms.

**Well that is the end of the story. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Again my thanks goes out to all of you who followed, and favorited the story your support is greatly appreciated. To carebear818, Sphinxius, msj12991, KendraBC, Zee-Zee Magee, huttonfan, february28, SusieDevereaux, Stellaru, leverageobsessedgrifter, JustBecause2012, celestialstarynight and everybody else who took the time and made the effort to leave reviews thank you so very much, it is your support that makes me keep writing these stories. **


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